


Agent Shaw

by Random_ficzletz61



Series: The Shaw Chronicles [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Season 1, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-17 23:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 59,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21518221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_ficzletz61/pseuds/Random_ficzletz61
Summary: For Skye getting picked up by a S.H.I.E.L.D team was the plan, getting her answers no matter what was the plan, but the rest, well, she’s just winging it, so when she runs into some familar figures she rolls with it. Then a mysterious yet intriguing person by the name of Shaw joins the team, it throws her and the rest of the team in a loop. See how one character can affect the outcome of season 1...
Relationships: Leo Fitz & Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz & Jemma Simmons & Skye | Daisy Johnson, OC I Lukas Shaw & Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Team, Phil Coulson & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Skye I Daisy Johnson & OC I Lukas Shaw, Skye | Daisy Johnson & Grant Ward
Series: The Shaw Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550971
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	1. Oh the Tide is Rising

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic so bear with me!  
> -Basically season 1 but I add my own character  
> -It will be multi story  
> -I take constructive criticism  
> -Read endnotes!  
> Also! I promise I will go more into the shifter stuff, it's not that important in the first few chapters but I promise it will eventually explain!

**3rd Person**

" _The secret is out._

_For decades, your organization stayed in the shadows,_

_hiding the truth, but now we know they're among us._

_Heroes..._

_and monsters._

_The world is full of wonders..._

_We can't explain everything we see._

_But our eyes are open._

_So what now?_

_There are no more shadows for you to hide in._

_Something impossible just happened._

_What are **you** going to do about it?_

**_1x01 Pilot_ **

**Agent Hill's Field Office, Location: Classified**

"What does S.H.I.E.L.D stand for Agent Ward?" came the voice of Agent Hill,

"Strategic Homeland Intervention Logistics Division" comes the swift reply of the stoic Agent Ward

"And what does that mean for you?"

"That someone really wanted our name to be spelled S.H.I.E.L.D" Agent Ward could see the small quirk of Agent Hills lips before they were back in there stoic form, a sigh escapes Agent Ward before he replies seriously this time 

"It means we're the line between the world and the much weirder world. We protect people from the news they aren't ready to hear, and when we can't do that, we keep them safe."

"Something turns up..." as he holds up a Chitauri Link "Like this Chitauri neural link..." He slides it across the table and Agent Hill snatches it will ease. "We get to it before someone bad does."

"Any idea who Vanchat was planning to sell it to?" Agent Hill stands up and puts the link in a black box where an Agent walks off with it.

"I'm more interested in how this rising tide group found out about it, I thought they were just hackers. What changed?" Agent Ward says, finally gaining the attention of the senior agent as she puts her hands on her hips.

" _Everything's_ changing. A little while ago most people went to bed thinking the craziest thing in the world was a billionaire in a flying metal suit and that people could shift into animals." Agent Ward meets Agent Hill's eyes, his lips in a thin line.

"Then aliens invaded New York and were beaten by, among others, a giant green monster, a costumed hero from the '40s, and a god."

Agent Ward squints his eyes and applies "I don't think Thor's technically a god.."

Agent Hill tuts "Well, you haven't been near his arms." She looks away before quickly before snapping back to Agent Ward's eyes causing him to look down

"The Battle of New York was the end of the world. This -- now -- is the new world. People are different." Agent Hill explains

"They have access to tech, to formulas, secrets they're not ready for." 

Agent Ward leans forward, done with the explanation "Why was I pulled out of Paris?"

Agent Hill sucks on her bottom lip for a milli-second before looking back at Agent Ward "That you'll have to ask Agent Coulson."

The Agent looks confused before responding "Uh, yeah, I'm clearance level 6."

"I know that... Agent Coulson was killed in action. Before the Battle of New York"

Just as he finishes the previously thought dead Agent Phillip Coulson steps out of the shadows with a small smile and replying 

"Welcome to Level 7"

"Sorry, that corner was really dark and I couldn't help myself."

Ward looks at Hill in confusing who just scoffs and Coulson adds on

"I think there's a bulb out."

**Skye Pov**

She quickly looks around as she inconspicuously follows the dubbed 'Hooded Hero' into a diner before sitting across from him. The man looks up from his newspaper instantly recognizing the girl who recorded him.

"Just act natural," Skye says as she looks around 

"What?" replies the man

"Just pretend that we're talking"

"We _are._ " the man says incredulously

"Good, 'Cause you never know who's listening" As she says that she pulls out three sugar packets and unconsciously starts fiddling with them 

"I don't even know who's talking" The man quickly looks down at his paper and then looks back up as Skye realizes she never gave her name.

"I'm Skye... and you're the hooded hero!" She lets out a chuckle 

"Please tell me that you're not staying with that name," She says as the man's eyes widen fractionally before replying

"Wait. What? I'm not..." He stammers "I'm a factory worker!"

"Sure, by _day._ I saw you. You're a real hero!" She starts talking faster

'Like a for-real superhero! which is" she stops taking a breath before rephrasing "I'm not, like, a groupie, stalker type, but..." She squeals and quickly finishes her sentence "Oh, my god! That is so cool!" 

Realizing she's drawing attention to them, she says to herself "Okay, okay, chill. Just don't draw attention." The man for his part looks at her likes she's crazy and is becoming more and more uncomfortable when suddenly she changes her angle

She sighs "You're in danger."

"You got the wrong guy, lady," He says 

"No, you've got the wrong _approach."_ She corrects him 

"The cute girl from the hospital is dying to thank you... and possibly 'thank' you.." She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively 

"And you're hiding" she finished like he's the crazy one

"The clip of you rescuing her has had the most hits since that puppy with vertigo, and you can't even find a job" She points out and he quickly covers the newspaper where he was looking for jobs.

"What do you mean about danger?" He suddenly asks, she gathers herself and explains to him

"S.H.I.E.L.D"

"Shield, what? I should carry a shield?" He says.

"The government, the scary men in suits who come after guys like you! They knew what was happening before the Battle of New York happened and cleaned it up faster than anyone can even say 'Shield', how long do you think its gonna take before _you're_ the one they clean up!" 

"And you want to know why I'm hiding." He responds dryly 

"Yeah, but what if you don't hide?" She says 'What if you got in front of this and let people know that you're a hero!" 

"I'm just a guy"

"Yeah well, a guy like that gets perks."

"I can help." She adds

"I'm great with computers, like weirdly great, I could help you create a whole new identity or..." She gasps coming up with an idea "A mask!" 

The man abruptly stands up and she grabs his arm and hastily adds

"Listen you cannot walk away from this," She says

"Watch me," The man says

"Look, With great power comes... a ton of weird crap that you are _not_ prepared to deal with."

She says and she looks at his face which looks like he would rather be anywhere than here

"If you want you can always come by my van, it's always in the alley around the corner, just know that if you ever want my help, you have mine," she adds

He looks at her then nods slowly

"Ok..." He says slowly before walking away from her.

"They're coming for you!" She smiles and waves at him then mutters "Mike." Looking at his ID.

**Coulson's Pov**

He walks up to the desk where an Agent is currently stapling papers with an emotionalist mask.

"Agent May."

"No." She quickly replies not even letting him finish whatever sentence he was thinking of finishing. 

"So you've been briefed." He says.

"I'm not going back in the field." She says not even looking up from the papers she's been stapling together.

"Yeah," he drawls outs "You've got such a nice setup here. You ever thought about adding a moat?" he adds on trying to get her to look at him

He sighs as he doesn't even get an acknowledgment that she heard what he said "I just need you to drive the bus, liaise ground Transpo, some on-site supervision. This isn't a combat op." he says knowing that could what gets her to join him and the team

"Then you don't need me." She weakly responds, he can see her resilience slowly cracking as he continues talking

"I do. 'Cause we'll be running ourselves. Picking the ops... Making the calls. No red tape."

He looks around "This is where they actually make the red tape, isn't it? I always wondered." She still doesn't look up at him.

"Melinda." He says

"You're really just asking me to drive the bus?" She finally looks up and just stares at him and Coulson tries his best to maintain eye contact.

"I'm not asking." He says the edge of his lips quirking up a bit

"But it's a really nice bus." Before walking away not waiting for a response.  
  


**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

As Agent Ward walks up to the plane, code name: The Bus, he hears a set of voices as he draws closer catching the end of the conversation. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Watch it!" A man with a Scottish accent says to a woman about the same age as him

"Well, it's on my stuff, and it doesn't work, and there's no way we're calling it the night-night gun!" The woman, a sharp British accent, says, clearly frustrated

As they continue to argue Ward just stands there before getting sick of the conversation and loudly dropping his bag causing the two Agents to lookup

"Fitz-Simmons?" He says, his voice clearly stating that he does not want to be here.

The woman looks at him before pointing to the man "Fitz." As the man points at the women at the same time "Simmons."

"I'm engineering. She's biochem" He adds with the word 'biochem' having a bit hostility to it 

"Coulson said I'd need my comm receiver encoded," Ward says, as he takes out his comm and hands it to Fitz who takes it and heads over to the table, not evening looking at him

"Don't know if you've worked with that model before it's..." he doesn't even finish his sentence before Fitz grabs a hammer and starts crushing it

"Brand-new..."

Simmons seemingly understanding his confusing and explaining "He'll repurpose the I.D.I.S. chip" before starting to babble more technical terms that Ward just tunes out, he hears the screeching of tires and turns toward the entrance of The Bus before a 1962 Chevrolet Corvette pulls up into the plane as Coulson steps out

Fitz walks up to him grinning "One of Coulson's old S.H.I.E.L.D collectibles-"

Ward hears Coulson say "Don't touch Lola." to an Agent

"- Flamethrowers, worlds first GPS. He's mad for that crap" Fitz says before patting Ward's shoulder and heading back to the lab.

As Coulson is explaining the Plane or the Bus to Ward, all of a sudden Agent Melinda 'The Calvary' May walks past them tersely saying "Wheels are up in five."

Ward looks at Coulson with astonishment and stuttering out a question about what she's doing here.

"Nows now the time Agent Ward," Coulson says, shutting Ward up 

"We may have hit one of The Rising Tide's routing points." Coulson continues as if he never scolded Ward 

They both sit down as the plane lifts off.

_"How will you come at us?_

_From the air?_

_From the ground?_

_How will you silence us this time?_

_How can you?_

_The truth is in the wind._

_It's everywhere._

_You cannot stop The Rising Tide._

_You will not find us._

_You will never see our faces._

_But rest assured..._

_We will rise against those who shield us from the truth."_

"And nothing..." Skye abruptly stops just as she's about to finish as she hears the sound of muffled footsteps slowly coming towards the door.

She shuts off all her equipment just as the door opens and sees the outline of what looks like to her two S.H.I.E.L.D Agents and lets out three sarcastic words before the world goes black.

"Hey. What up?"


	2. I Got In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed the summary because I realized shifters won't be the main focus, but they will play parts in learning people's personalities.

**Skye Pov, Location: The Bus**

The sound of a door slamming shut causing her to flinch before the black blag that was previously placed on her head is roughly thrown off, she squints into the light as her eyes slowly adjust to the difference in the light before noticing two people, one sitting, on standing. It takes her a moment to fully register whos in front of her before.

"Coulson!?" She exclaims in astonishment

Coulson for his sake looks confused and then suddenly he recognizes her 

"Skye?" He says

"What the fuck is going on Coulson!" She says 

"We were chasing a Rising Tide lead" He states like it was obvious

"Did you really have to put a bag on my head?" She asks

"I didn't realize it was you, your hair is different," He says, meanwhile the Agent that was previously confused quickly regains his bearings before asking the women Coulson name Skye

"I'm sorry but who are you? And how do you know Coulson" The Agent says, as both people sitting down look up from him like they forgot he was there.

"Well Agent Ward, this is Skye," He says

"Skye? What's her last name" He says, and there's an instant change in demeanor for the young girl as her lips get set in a thin line and her face becomes blank

"That can wait" Coulson jumps in before Skye can say some choice of words to Ward

"We just need the name of a certain hero," Coulson says and Skye turns her head to face Coulson

"What makes you think I know that?" Skye says like she would give away the name just like that even if she knew Coulson and that he was the good guy.

"Well, you make a little mistake," Coulson says the side of his lips quirking up as he realizes she isn't going to make it easy

"The phone," He states "You filmed the hooded hero with had the same cryptographic signature as a few of The Rising Tide Posts" He finishes. Skye starts to smile and says "Wow. Yeah, Was that a mistake? Or am I now sitting in the center of your new headquarters? This is a plane right?" She says and Coulson forgot how good she could be yet he is still smiling.

"I got inside, while it might not be my first time, and you know that you can't beat the encryption in my equipment, so you know you got nothing" She finishes.

Coulson for his part just smiles like he knows she'll say it eventually, and he is correct on that part, but Ward on his last nerve blurts out

"How'd you get a video of the hood man, did you blow it up to draw him out" Skye looks up at Ward with barely contained shock

"Why would I do that?! From what I know you guys did that!"

"That's not our style" Ward rebutted

"I just got _kidnapped_ by your 'style'" She states, her voice becoming louder 

"S.H.I.E.L.D covered up New Mexico, Project Pegasus, of course, you'd be either working with or covering up Centipede!" She says while she likes Coulson, she can't say the same for the rest of S.H.E.I.L.D

Ward steps behind Skye and mouths 'Centipede' as he scratches his neck, Skye catches the exchange and for her part is truly astonished

"Holy no way" She lets out a short laugh

"You don't know what that is, billions of dollars of equipment at your disposal, and I beat you with a laptop that I won in a bet?!" Coulson finally looks back at her and his face his serious 

"Skye I know you don't like S.H.I.E.L.D but you trust me right?" He asks continuing to talk before she can answer

"Yeah we'd like to contain him but you know what other people will do if they get their hands on him," He says 

Ward leans in and then asks the question both men would like the answer too

"What. Is. Centipede?"

**Mikes Pov**

He grabs his phone quickly dialing the number and bringing it up to his ear before asking the doctor to go public

"Yeah, I get it, but..."

The sound of talking from the other side of the phone is heard as he replies

"Listen, doctor, people saw me. They saw what I can do! If I went public, that might be good."

"I mean, your product works," He says as he goes to scratch the centipede-like cell attached to his arm

"It works amazingly"

The sound of an increased voice is heard before he continues with his argument

"Yeah, yeah, I-I-I know what I signed, but if we got out in front of this, maybe..." Before his finishes his sentence the person on the other line starts talking cutting him off

" _Then_ what?"

"You want me to go crawling back to the factory?" He says incredulously

"I couldn't even get workmen's comp from those crooks! I don't think..." He starts before he's cut off yet again 

"Yeah, ye.."

"Doctor, I just thought..."

"Okay." He sighs in defeat before the phone call ends

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

"Centipede" She starts trying to figure out a way so they could understand. In frustration standing up were the cuffs that should have been connected to the table just fall uselessly to the ground. 

"It was chatter on the dark web and then 'poof' gone," She says waving her hands around as she starts pacing, both men looking in apprehension as they look at the cuffs

"I traced the access-point MAC address to that building, that's why I was there"

"What were you after?" Ask Ward

"Answers, what are _you_ after?" She counters

"World peace," He says as she just scoffs 

He continues "You pseudo-anarchist hacker types love to stir things up"

"True..." She starts but Ward cuts her off his lips drawing back

"But you're never around for the fallout" He finishes causing her to stop and slowly face him her face coated in anger

"I'm not that type of person," She says

He scoffs before saying "Just give us your guy's name"

"He's not my guy!" She exclaims incredulously

"You understand he's in danger Skye" Coulson finally says and Skye looks over to him and just sighs, her shoulders slumping before saying "Then let me go, let me talk to him, not the T-1000 her."

"You want to be alone with him. Of Course." He says 

"She's a groupie, all this hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D., tracking powers... she might as well be one of those sweaty cosplay girls crowding around Stark Tower," He says letting his anger and frustration bleed out.

"What?! I would _never_ " She says 

"Agent Ward follow me, Skye please stay here," Coulson says walking out before either of them can respond, and in doing so misses the both of them glaring at each other.

**Coulson's Pov**

He's, of course, annoyed at Ward for mucking up the interview and is already coming up with a plan when Ward decides to say something that has Coulson almost burning with anger

"Give me a minute alone with her sir, you'll have your answers," He says and he finally looks at Ward for a split second before turning back and rummaging through the storage again

"We will do no such thing Agent Ward because she can be and is a great asset"

"She is _such_ an ass... wait 'asset'?" Ward ask in confusion

"Yes you heard me an asset, she's been helping me and Agent Hill with collecting some Rising Tide names granted she probably didn't know it was me at the time, but yes Agent ward, an asset."

"But you are right about one thing Ward," He says before finding the item he has been looking for, finally turning around fully to Ward as Ward notices the box he grabbed confusion writing all over his face

"We need answers," He says "We need to know what she knows." As he says that he opens the box to reveal a syringe and a type of liquid.

**3rd Pov, Location: The Centipede Lab**

Fitz-Simmons were using the D.W.A.R.F.S to look around the place where the explosion went off and was talking mainly to themselves, May was looking around for any threat possible, like as though the shadows would jump out at them

"...See, we designed each with their own capabilities, so, sum, some recording the dimensions and textures of the room, and some testing the matter density, radiation," Fitz says as Simmons picks up where he was talking

"I mean, one is basically just smelling," Simmons says smiling to herself as she looks around. Suddenly a beeping noise starts emitting from one of them and both Fitz-Simmons look at the tablet 

"Who's got it?" Simmons asks

"Uh... Bashful" Comes the reply of Fitz

"Aww..." Simmons says as she looks at what Bashful caught

"It's a surveillance camera. Deep-fried"

"Yes, but that model has flash memory"

"Let's get it back to the lab then" Comes the clipped reply of May making both the scientist's jump

"Wait!" Simmons says

"Snow's reading some compounds that are..." She doesn't finish her sentence as she reads what Snow's been transmitting

"Whoa. My god." She says, at a complete loss of words

Fitz comes to look at what Snows found as he asks a question to Simmons "Explosives?"

Simmons doesn't even look as she found the substance Snow found

"Not of this earth" She corrects him looking over to Fitz

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

Coulson and Ward both walk into the interrogation room where Skye is just sitting in the chair with her head hanging back

"This is QNB-T16" States Coulson causing Skye to lazily raise her head, raising an eyebrow at the two men

"It's the top-shelf Martini of Sodium Pentothal derivatives. A top of the line truth drug." Says Coulson causing Skye to immediately tense and eye the syringe that he's holding with distrust.

"Don't worry, you'll have a nice little nap and we'll have all the answers to our..." He doesn't get to finish his sentence because suddenly Coulson jams the syringe into Wards arm

"Hey! What the hell?!" Ward exclaims 

"I'm sorry. Did that hurt?" Coulson asks innocently

"No. But you've lost your mind. You should never do that to a member of your team. And yes, it did hurt a little bit, but I always try and mask my pain in front of beautiful women 'cause I think it makes me seem more masculine." He rambles on and Skye snorts at that

"My God, this stuff works fast!" He exclaims before sitting down

"Don't trust him? Ask him whatever you'd like" Coulson says before leaving and locking the interrogation room.

Skye smirks slowly taking off her jacket

"You seem nervous, Agent Ward."

Ward gulps.

**Mike's Pov, Location: The Factory**

He has never been angrier, he deserves to get his job back goddamnit not to be replaced like he's just a piece of trash. He just sees red and acts on instinct, he doesn't even regret killing the man, he deserved it, they all deserve it.

But he killed a man and he knows that he will be arrested or worse, so he tries to find the one person who said she'll help him.

Skye.

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus Command Center**

Skye walks out and heads to where she sees Coulson

"Did Agent Ward give you anything?"

"He told me he's been to Paris, but he's never really seen it and that he wishes you had stayed in Tahiti."

"It's a magical place," Coulson says automatically 

Skye looks at him fully and then smiles

"It's good to see you, Coulson, alive" She adds, Coulson looks down

"Sorry I couldn't tell anyone, Directors orders" He tries to justify

"Ah" Is all she says

"We're getting off-topic, I need to show you something," Coulson says before he presses a few buttons and the news pops on

" _Remains in critical condition._

 _Employees could not identify the attacker, but security footage confirms that this man assaulted the factory foreman before damaging thousands of dollars' worth of company property."_ The news reporter states

"That's not the guy I met. He just... just needs a break."

"Then let's give him one, what have you got?"

Skye goes into her pocket and pulls out an ID before handing it to Coulson who just raises an eyebrow at her and she just shrugs.

Just then May, Fitz, and Simmons walk into the Command Center taking into account the young women leaning casually against the door frame.

"Micheal Peterson... factory worker, married, one kid, gets injured, gets laid off. Wife jumps ship" Coulson states before facing all four of them

"Good guy, bad breaks," He says before looking at Fitz

"What do we have from the security footage before the blast?"

Fitz hands him the device where the screen pops showing a man with a briefcase arguing with a man in a lab coat before being blown up.

"What are we seeing?" Coulson questions 

"Well, the man is angry at the other man" States Fitz who everyone just looks at before Simmons jumps in "The data is very corrupt"

"Yeah, like cold war Russia corrupt" Fitz interrupts

"I-I can't sync the timecode without..." Fitz starts before he's interrupted by the mystery women

"What if you had the audio?" Everyone just looks at her while she continues 

"I was running surveillance on the lab, I had my shotgun mic pointed at the window before the blast."

"The digital files in my van. There's too much background noise for me, but you could probably... you can clean that up, can't you?" She finishes 

Fitz-Simmons turn to face each other having their own conversation, completely ignoring everyone else.

"Find a sync point and use cross-field validation to find..."

"But I can't scrub for expression patterns when the vit-c is all..."

"Well, is there a chrominance subcarrier?.."

"Yeah, attached to the back porch. Brilliant"

"Um, that audio would be great. Thank you very, very much. We will take that audio, please" Fitz ask the women

"Your van's here, but you were right we couldn't decrypt the files," Coulson says and Skye just smirks at him

"Well, you should know that." She says before adding

"The encryption's coupled to the GPS. Get my van back to that alley, and then I'm in business."

Coulson just raises an eyebrow

Suddenly he remembers everyone doesn't know her and announces "Everyone meet Skye."

He turns to May, who was eyeing the girl, "Agent May will escort you" And Skye just nods before walking out towards her van and May follows from behind

"Oh, and May, on your way out, wake up Ward."

**Skye's Pov**

The rest of the mission went to shit, being kidnapped wasn't on her recent to-do-list but it worked out in the end, they saved Mike and S.H.I.E.L.D took him. She might have had major trust issues with S.H.I.E.L.D but she knew Coulson would want what was best for him.

She watches as Ace walks into his Aunts house, a dog barking in the distance before she turns around and sees Coulson watching her

She walks up to him "I told him his father was coming home." She says

"He will," Coulson says simply

"We have some experience with this" 

"We both do" He smirks

"We almost died, again," She says

"We both have some experience with that, too" Coulson interrupts

"We didn't cut off the head of Centipede, whoever sponsored that little experiment is still out there, among other things," Coulson states, changing the subject

"It's a brave new world. And a really old car" She says sarcastically

"Lola can keep up" He chuckles

"Have you thought about the offer" Coulson ask and she just knows he wants her on the team

"I'm not exactly a team player, especially since people would love to just dissect me if they find out I'm a shifter," She says watching his face for any tells that he would do just that.

"I won't, that was something we agreed on when we first met," Coulson says and she just nods

"But we're in a position to do some good, like with what we did with Peterson."

"You'd be a great help, plus it is good to see you again, " Coulson says and Skye lets a small smile grace her lips

"And you'd be front row center at the strangest show on earth, which is, after all, what you wanted," Coulson says as they both get into the car

"I was able to hack S.H.I.E.L.D from my van Coulson, I can shift into an animal, and you think you're gonna show me something new?" She asks, just as he's about to respond his cellphone rings

"Go," He says

"Sir, we've got an 0-8-4," Ward says cutting straight to the chase

"Is that confirmed?" Coulson asks leaning forward to turn on the car

"They want _us to_ go in and confirm it" Ward states

Coulson ends the call and just faces her

"Remind me what's and 0-8-4 again?" She asks

"You've got exactly 10 minutes to decide if you want to remember." He says

"Coulson, I know Lolas fast but she isn't that..." She doesn't get to finish her sentence as the car starts to float up and she looks at him incredulously

"10 minutes"

"The tide is rising." He says and she laughs as the start flying

"You did not just use that against me," She says as they head to the airport

**3rd person, Location: Unknown**

"We might need you," says the voice of Director Fury

"You should have thought about that before you lied" came the voice of a man

"I just omitted the truth" Fury corrects

"You still lied straight to my face"

"You didn't have the clearance to know, not that it has ever stopped you" Muses Fury

The man just stands silent, hiding in the shadows.

Fury sighs "What if I assign you to his team" He offers, hoping that the man would accept without asking for anything else.

"Maybe, I still have a contract that I need to finish." States the man

"Just tell me when you can or even if you will," Fury says and the man just nods before leaving.

Fury sits down and thinks to himself out loud

"This should be interesting..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always feedback is appreciated!  
> The posting should be pretty consistent because of Thanksgiving break  
> Who do you think Fury was talking to????


	3. Fun in Peru

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 3!  
> I'm doing this so where each episode is at least two chapters, it feels like I do less work when I do it soooo we just role with it  
> Shifters are rare and few, only a select 10% of the world population can shift and each person is different!

** 1x02 **

_HQ: S.H.I.E.L.D 6-1-6, you have confirmation._

_You are cleared direct to the Slingshot_

_~static~_

_Agent Coulson, Everything all right up there?_

_We heard you had a little dustup on the ground_

_Coulson: Yeah, we're all good, it's gonna be blue skies from here on out._

_The sound of the explosion can be heard as a hole shows up in the side of the plane a yell is heard as people and objects fly out_

_"Coulson!"_

**19 Hours Earlier, 3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

A sky blue van sits outside of The Bus as two bags are thrown haphazardly out of the side door, Skye steps out looking back at her van, her lips set in a thin line.

An Agent steps to her van and Skye says "Hey, no joy rides, okay? That's my house..." she trails off, the Agent nods minusculely as he puts a device on the hood of her van, starting it up instantly

She scoffs "Where do they think of this stuff?" She ponders out loud, staring at her van for what might be her last time, and turning around reluctantly.

In the Command Center Ward and Coulson argue May standing off to the side

"Skye? Girl's not qualified to be a S.H.I.E.L.D agent" Ward says

"I wouldn't say that, but I have invited her on as a consultant," Coulson says

"S.H.I.E.L.D does it all the time, technically, Stark's a consultant" Coulson adds on, Ward looks totally against the idea, while May is looking at Coulson with her usual blank mask

"And _technically_ , Skye's a member of the Rising Tide, she hacked our RSA implementations--" Ward starts before he's cut off by Coulson "Three times. From a laptop, Imagine what she'll do with our resources this time" Coulson says

"Wait this time?" Ward says

"She has used are resources before," Coulson says vaguely

"She's a risk sir, you brought me on for risk assessment, well there's one right there."

"She doesn't think like us" Ward adds, desperately trying to get Coulson to agree

"Exactly." Is all Coulson says

Back downstairs at the lab, Fitz-Simmons wait for Skye to walk up to them before they start talking to her

"Oh, Agent Coulson told us the news, what a wonderful surprise, isn't it Fitz?" Rambles Simmons

Simmons nudges Fitz who shakes his head, seemingly lost in thought "No, it's wonderful. Yeah, a surprise" Fitz says clearly not as excited or enthusiastic as Simmons

"You must be very excited" Simmons ask

"Yep, the first day of school," Skye says sarcastically 

Fitz extends his arms out and Skye realizes he's gesturing for her stuff

"You sure? It's heavy" Skye says

"Of course," He says and when Skye puts in his arms he grunts almost losing the box

"Okay so... just -- sorry" As he gets a good grip and Fitz and Skye walk upstairs leaving Simmons in the lab

Back upstairs, Ward and Coulson, are they are still arguing

"We have two kids on this Bus who aren't cleared for combat, you're adding a third," May says, finally speaking up

"She has combat training," He says evasively, both Agents look at him hoping he'll elaborate but when he doesn't Ward continues on

"At least Fitz-Simmons are trained S.H.I.E.L.D scientist," Ward says

"I don't see how letting some hacker tag along is a great-" Ward starts, Coulson finally having enough says with authority "I'm looking for an objection I haven't already anticipated Agent Ward. I'm calling this, but your frown will be on record" Coulson says.

"We've been called in to investigate an 0-8-4," Coulson says changing the subject

"And we will do just that," States Coulson, the finality causing the two of them to walk away from the center.

Fitz and Skye walk to the bunks, Fitz currently explaining what the Bus is

"Officially it's an airborne mobile command station, but we call it the Bus, we find it best to use shorthand when in the field. You know, because of the danger" He says breathlessly before Coulson goes up to both of them.

"Let's find a bunk for our guest" Suggests Coulson seeing Skye becoming more uncomfortable with Fitz nervous rambling, walking off to find May before either of them can respond.

"Oh, oh, yeah, ok, there's only one left, and it's, um, right next to mine," Fitz says as he opens her bunk "Quite small but it should do," he says uncertainly.

Skye looks at him prompting him to realize he's standing in front of the entrance of her new bunk "Sorry. You can, I'll just, yeah..." He trails off before just setting her stuff down and leaving her, heading back to the lab where Simmons currently at.

She snorts as Ward walks up to her, he throws something in her hands causing her to fumble it for a bit

"You'll want to read that, this Bus isn't like other planes," He says

"Yeah, well I want to live in a mansion Ward but we all can't get what we want" She snaps back as he just walks off.

Skye just looks at the pamphlet and shrugs finding a seat to sit down in. She's reading it for the sixth when she catches Coulson heading back to the Command center

"Sweet ride," she comments causing him to notice her and smile coming to sit down next to her

"I earned a little goodwill from Director Fury when I got hit right before the Battle of New York," He says causing Skye to scowl at him

"Ok, ok, an Asgardian scepter through the heart," He states and Skye's eyes widen fractionally

"The effect was similar, got a few weeks' R&R and this plane" He rushes out trying to distract her

"Had it completely refurbished. Studs up -- spared no expense" He concludes

"Yeah, Ward told me you were sent to Tahiti," She says

"It's a magical place," He says automatically, eyes glazing over a bit

"Yeah... you mentioned that," She says staring at him with narrowed eyes

"So where are we going" Skye ask, getting Coulson to look at her again

"Peru, that's where the 0-8-4 was reported" Coulson explains

"Isn't an 0-8-4 an object of unknown origin?" Skye asks and Coulson just nods and smiles "Kind of like you" She scoff "You know me Coulson" 

"Not a lot only what you slip up," He says causing her to glare at him yet again.

"The last one was interesting," Coulson says

"Wasn't that the hammer?"

"Yep" is all he says before they drift into a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride to Peru.

**3rd Pov, Location: Peru**

The sound of tires screeching on the dirt-paved path fills the sound of the boisterous jungle as the group jumps out of the SUVs. Ward, May, Coulson, Skye, Fitz, and Simmons all take in their surroundings checking for anything out of the norm

"Tire tracks 40 meters back I'll check them against the site's trucks -- make sure we're alone" Ward's voice echos out before he walks back into the jungle.

"Too much exposure here, I'm gonna find a place to park," Is all May says as she walks back to the cars and drives off.

As they walk to the temple Fitz-Simmons mindless chatter fills the void of silence

"I would love to see a capuchin in the wild, maybe even a yellow-tailed woolly monkey" Fitz states excitedly looking around for any sign of monkeys

"You know, um, Peru has 32 different species of monkeys" Come's the voice of Skye and both Fitz-Simmons and Coulson look at her incredulously

"What, I read," She says, suddenly uncomfortable with the amount of staring shes getting

"Um, yeah well they also have close to 200 species of snakes too," Simmons says cheerfully 

"The Shushupe has a fascinating venom, it's neurotoxic, proteolytic, and hemolytic" Simmons states as Fitz, Coulson, and Skye stare at each other.

"That's... fascinating" Skye says slowly

"But personally I'd be much more concerned with earthquakes, mala--" She stops talking to slap a mosquito that was about to bite Fitz

"Ah, there's no vaccine for dengue fever." She finishes cheerfully

**3rd Pov, Location: The Dig Site**

"Good morning, Professor, I'm Agent Coulson with S.H.I.E.L.D, and I understand you've made an interesting discovery," Coulson begins when seeing the Professor. Skye, Fitz, Simmons, May, and Ward trailing behind him

"I-I'm not sure how to explain it, this temple dates back at least 500 years, it's filled with pre-Incan artifacts, one of them is impossible and looks like it might be dangerous" The man states, his body radiating nervousness

"Well, that's why we're here" Coulson smiles assuringly at the man

As they head inside the temple and see the device Coulson asks "Who else knows about this?" 

"Just the ministry. I believe they are the ones who contacted you," The man says

"Well, sir, I need you and your team to evacuate the site until we determine the risk associated with this object," Coulson states with authority

As he says this, Fitz-Simmons set up their equipment and set the D.W.A.R.F.S loose 

"Leave the man alone," Simmons says to one of the curious D.W.A.R.F.S scan the Professor

"Now for your own safety..." Coulson begins to say before walking out with the man, leaving Fitz-Simmons and Skye down there alone

"It's amazing, I searched every data stream and nothing" Gushes Simmons

Skye takes a step closer to the device and tilts her head "It looks German" she says, taking out her phone and looking for any chatter about the 0-8-4, deleting any rumors popping up about it.

"That's weird because the object's placement in fossiliferous rock formations suggests it been here for at least 1,500 years" Simmons continues on only glancing at Skye reassuring that she heard what she said.

"That pre-dates this temple by a millennium" Fitz exclaims eagerly

As he declares that Coulson comes down and checks on them when abruptly his comms activate static filling their ears before they hear Ward speak through " _Sir we have a situation"_

Skye looks at him with concern "Lots of rebels in this area" she says

"Not enough gunfire" he counters

"Keep working," He says to them before going to comms " _I_ _'m on my way"_

"Buenos días, soy el Agente Coulson, Estamos aquí en una cuestión de Seguridad Internacional," Coulson says walking out and flashing his S.H.I.E.L.D badge to the police, exuding confidence

"Phillip?" The women states incredulously 

"Camillia?"

"Do you mind?" Asks the Coulson

"After you" The women 'Camilla' says

Coulson nods to May and Ward and they slowly lower their weapons

While they're doing that Camilla tells the soldiers to lower their weapons and a chorus of "Yes Comandante" is heard, Coulson raises his eyebrows.

Camillia smiles "And now for a proper hello" and they kiss each other's cheek, missing Ward and May give a look

"Comandante -- a promotion. Congratulations" Coulson says as they both pull away

"Three years ago, but thank you," Camilla says with a smile

"Agent Melinda May, Agent Grant Ward, this is Comandante Camilla Reyes, she's with the Policia Militar del Peru" He states with a smile

"We used to work together back in the day" Camilla states

May scoffs slightly

"Why don't we work something out," Coulson says pulling Camilla away from Ward and May.

Back in the temple Fitz-Simmons are geeking out about the 0-8-4, Skye, however, is cautious looking at the object with clear distrust

"Are you seeing this? It's alive" Simmons says incredulously

"Wha-- _alive_ alive?" Fitz ask in wonder

"It has a functioning power source" Simmons states

"Sleepy's reading radionuclides, but they don't match any known isotope" 

"I get temporal matches, but even then, they seem to shift"

"Is that even possible?" Fitz rhetorically asks

"Well if it's not an earth metal, maybe, I mean Alien metals react differently to human metals?" Skye questions mostly to herself, noticing the silence she looks at the scientists and notices both of them look at her with apprehension "What? So I know stuff?" She states defensively

Ward then walks down "We've got company," he says

"Nice to see you too," Skye says sarcastically

Ward sends a glare at her and she just raises an eyebrow, both scientists look at each other, uneasy, "What? W-Why are they here?" Fitz ask nervously

"They heard about this object," Ward says evasively

"They're probably here to protect it, this area has lots of rebel uprisings" Ward states

"Yeah, people are fighting back against the government's mining policies," Skye says

"In its own way it pretty kick-ass" 

"The violence isn't," Ward says dryly making Skye shoot him a glare "That's not what I'm saying"

"No. It's what you're typing, in your van alone -- where it's safe," He says

She bitterly laughs "You think I lived in my van the whole time I was with the Rising Tide Grant," She says mockingly

"How much longer," He says ignoring the comment but a frown is visible on his face

"What's the hurry? Are we in danger?" Fitz ask apprehensively

"Not if everyone does their job" He then turns to face Skye "What is yours, exactly?"

"To try not to kill you," She mutters darkly, he just looks at her weirdly, suddenly gunfire starts and Wards instantly got his gun out "Get behind me," He says seriously 

Fitz-Simmons start packing the D.W.A.R.F.S up as fast as they can

"We need a containment case for the 0-8-4" Fitz speaks up as the sound of shooting echos through the Temple

"There's no time!" Ward says his eyes on the entrance

"But it has a fluctuating power core -- frequencies way above 10 exahertz" Fitz starts rambling, the sound of an explosion is heard and Ward grunts in frustration

"Sorry, science class is over" As he grabs the 0-8-4 and stuffs it in the bag much to the displeasure and exclamations of Fitz-Simmons

They quickly head to outside taking cover behind rocks and trees trying to head to the SUVs, when they finally get there they jump in as May starts the SUV, already in the driver's seat

"Go!" Ward all but yells as May presses down on the acceleration.

"Be careful!" Fitz yells as the car speeds through bumps and tree roots, the sound of shooting resounding from behind 

"There's a binding energy structure that could overheat!" 

"I could roll down a window!" Simmons exclaims but before she can the sound of bullets ricocheted of the car

"Do not roll down a window!" Skye yells

"Stay quiet and keep your heads down," Ward says

"Shut u--" Skye starts to say before a bump causes her to almost fall on top of Fitz-Simmons

"Head left. The ravine empties" Ward commands to May who she just glares at. A s they reach the plane all 5 of them jump out of the car

"How fast can you have the wheels up?" Ward asks May

"Fast." Is all May says before she's gone into the bus

"Ramp!" Ward yells and Skye heads to the button pressing it just as Coulson and Camilla's Unit drive onto the plane. They all take a breath as the Bus starts up and they're in the air.

"I got to say. More interesting than my van" Skye muses breathlessly

"Now what was the problem?" Ward says

"As I said before, this device has a high-frequency, fluctuating, sub-material compression --" Fitz starts to ramble

"Fitz in English" Ward cuts him off

"The 0-8-4 is fueled by tesseract technology," Simmons says causing everyone to look at her thankfully

"Hydra. World War II. Captain America?" Fitz states like its obvious

"It's full of lethal amounts of gamma radiation," Simmons says

"Gamma -- you're saying it's nuclear?" Ward ask

"No,  he's saying it's much, much worse," Skye says, tension leaking into her voice

They all take a step back instinctively,

_ Shit. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation- "Good morning, I'm Agent Coulson, we are here on a matter of international security"  
> -Feedback


	4. Welcome to the Bus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When life gives you lemons! More info about shifters, they have increased sense of hearing, agility, and smell, some more than others depending on what you can shift into

**3rd Pov, Location: Cockpit**

"Top speed's priority, May," Coulson says

He sighs "I know you didn't want to see combat, I apologize for that," He says, still not getting an answer

"Is this the Skye you always talked about?" May says abruptly, catching Coulson by surprise

"Yeah..." he says, May just hums before they settle into an uncomfortable silence

"Do you need anything else before I go check on the device fueled by evil that's sitting in our cargo hold?" Still not getting a response he gives up in trying to get her to talk

"This was fun." He says sarcastically before heading out to the lab

As he walks down the sound of arguing is heard

"I did explain in great detail exactly what I meant, using the queens bloody English!" Fitz all but yells at Ward while Simmons and Skye watch on in mild interest

"I use _normal_ English -- words like 'duck' and 'run' and 'might blow us to pieces'!" Ward yells back

"Oh. Oh! Well, congratulations, Agent Ward." Fitz says sarcastically as he sets the weapon on the table

"You managed to string three words together in a sentence" He exclaims

"Is everyone all right?" Coulson says to Camilla, tuning out the group in the lab arguing

"Banged up but alive, thank you for the extraction" Camilla gratefully says

"But we lost a lot of men" Sighs Camilla

"We'll make sure the rest of you get home safe," Coulson says, trying to reassure her

"Are we safe? On a plane with that?" Camilla asks

He's about to respond when one of Camilla's soldiers comes up to him "Sir, if I may?" he cautiously asks, Coulson nods his head letting him know it's ok to continue "You got anything to drink around here?"

"Upstairs" Coulson says, using his head to indicate where the stairs are

"I think you'll find it quite comfortable up there"

"I expect the grand tour," Camilla says as she walks upstairs

"I know you do" Is all Coulson says before heading to his team

"I'm trying to tell you --" Fitz starts off before being cut off by Ward "I don't understand anything you are saying!" He exclaims angrily

"Do we have a problem here?" Coulson butts in before they can start arguing again

"Just working on our communication, not everyone was prepared for a firefight," Ward says looking at Fitz at the end of his sentence

"We got out, didn't lose anyone, saved a few of theirs -- I'd say we did all right," Coulson says

"Anything else?" He says to the group

That's when Skye raises her hand "Uh, yeah, I have a small question" she says looking at Coulson who just nods at her

"Because I've been feeling like the tagalong hayseed rookie, but now I get the sense that Ward doesn't know which one's Simmons and which one's Fitz, and they've seen even less gunfire than anyone on this bus, and I'm no rocket scientist, but is this your first mission together?" She finishes looking at Fitz-Simmons 

"No, of course not, it's our second" Simmons says

"Aw, I was your first? That's sweet" Skye says in an over-friendly tone

"You're amused?" Ward says

"Frankly yes" Skye starts "Because this is one of the most disorganized teams I have ever seen or known, I don't play well with others so that says something"

"But from how long I've been here I've noticed that these guys-" She gestures to Fitz-Simmons and Ward "-do not like each other much"

"This isn't about that" Ward jumps in "I'm a specialist, today, I could have eliminated the enemy threat myself if I was working alone, but I had non-combat-ready agents -"

"Whoa, whoa. Wait. You work alone" Simmons scoffs cutting of Ward from finishing his sentence

"So typical. Who do you think designs your equipment?" Fitz ask 

"Or the polymers for your weaponry-"

"-People like us do that, try going into the field with just your bare bum" Fitz finishes, all three of them start arguing and Skye slides up to Coulson

"See them proving the point I just made?" She says

Coulson sighs "You're not wrong, we still need to iron out the kinks," He says the next part louder to catch the three arguing agents attention

"But, Ward, you can speak six languages, Simmons you have two PhDs in fields I can't pronounce, Fitz, you _are_ a rocket scientist, and, Skye, I pity the fool who finds out what you can truly do," He says

"So work it out" He walks away after that leaving them in silence

**3rd Pov, Location: Bus Mainquarters**

"Hunger Games?" Skye asks causing Ward to tense up, not realizing she was walking up to him

"One of a hundred books my S.O gave me that I'm just getting to," He says regaining his bearings. Looking up from the book he notices Skye staring at the soldiers before quickly turning her attention back at him, looking at him in confusion

"S.O, super--" he starts off

"I know what it means" She snaps at him

"Got it..." He trails off

"Hackers have lingo too you know, I just have also picked up on yours too," She says before she sighs

"Look, I feel like you and me -- wrong foot," She says motioning to both of them

"Buy you a drink?" She asks holding the bottle up and shaking it around a bit, Ward chuckles lightly holding out a glass, letting her pour some into his glass

"What I said before -- when I said the uprising was -- whatever I said -- kick-ass" 

"I don't want you to think I'm oblivious or something, but I was talking about the tweets," Skye says, Ward raises an eyebrow "Tweets, you trying to make things better or worse?"

Skye sighs "Peruvians have organized for the first time in decades, It's mind-blowing" She states

"And I don't want to bring it up because I don't want to see your hate face-" Ward just smirks "-But... that's what the Rising Tide is all about"

"Okay," Ward says slowly, noticing that she hasn't finished, just gathering her thoughts

"Usually, one person doesn't have the solution, but 2 people with 50%, or 5 people with 20%, even 100 people with 1% of the solution -- that'll get it done, and I think that's beautiful, like pieces solving a puzzle" She rambles out

"You and I see the world differently is all," Ward says

She smirks "Not really"

He looks at her and is about to say something when Skye's voice fills the room with barely concealed concern

"Did you get shot?" 

"Skin Deep. Nothing to worry about," He states

"You got shot" She deadpans

"Did that happen protecting us?" She asks

"Said don't worry about it" He gruffs out

"Well, no wonder you were so pissed," She says getting him to smile again

"I wasn't pissed" He sighs losing the smile "I was trained to be the whole solution -- to eliminate variables" He looks at the two soldiers sitting down about 10 feet away from them

"And today, they keep adding up," He says quietly

Upstairs, Camilla and Coulson are talking in his office, Camilla is staring at one of Coulson's old antique spy devices

"First walkie-talkie wristwatch --" Coulson says, noticing she was staring at it

"1936, Poland, they only made 20, I think" Coulson states, Camilla looks at him with a smile

"I forgot you're such a sentimentalist, Phillip," She says causing him to chuckle

"Romanticizing history," She says

"Yeah, most of it's glued down" He states

"There was an elegance to things back then," She remarks

"There we agree, with everything around us changing so quickly, it doesn't hurt to have a few touchstones to the past, reminds me what's important," Coulson says, looking back at the walkie-talkie

"The last thing I want to do is relive days gone by," Coulson tells

"A few nights, maybe," Camilla says closing the door behind them and turning back around at him

"I see what you're doing" He states

"I'm reminiscing," She says

"This plane is such a step up from the R.V we used to work out of when you were stationed in Cusco," She says, her voice suggestive

"I don't remember much working" Coulson lightly says causing her to chuckle and walk towards the couch, her finger dragging along the material

"I also don't remember you being this direct," He says

Back downstairs Ward and Skye are talking, Ward looks over at the soldiers and that causes Skye to subtly check them too

"Skye, hand me the bottle" Is all he says, and she nods handing it to him already tensing up 

Back upstairs Camilla and Coulson are still talking "We're stuck above the clouds for the next few hours, we might as well enjoy ourselves," She says walking up to him

"We could make a few more memories to add to your collection, what do you think?" She says staring at his lips before snapping back to his eyes

"I think..." He says, she raises an eyebrow, he takes a step closer to her

"Ward already knows you'll have to eliminate May from the equation to have a chance... which gives him about 20 seconds to get to her first," He says.

Downstairs Ward shoves out Skye out of the way as the first soldier comes up to him with his fist flying, Ward grabs the fist slamming it down onto the table before smashing the bottle on his hand.

In the cockpit, another soldier sets a small sleeping drug into the cockpit effectively knocking May out

Ward punches the soldier forcing him over the half wall before running to the other soldier slamming his body into his, pushing the soldier into the wall

In the office, Camilla tries to hit Coulson over the head but he grabs her arm and twists it back throwing her onto the couch

In the main quarters, Ward grabs the mans arm and throws him to the ground, punching him as Coulson runs down the stairs to the Command Center, Camilla trailing behind, Ward stops punching the man when they see a video of the downstairs lab, a soldier with a scalpel to Fitz's throat, taking Skye by surprise the soldier grabs her arms, knowing they won't win Skye lets him take her

Coulson looks at the screen then Camilla before walking up to her "We were allies, we had history" 

"When did you decide to throw that away?" He asks

"As soon as I saw your team" she states emotionally leaning against the rail.

**3rd Pov, Location: Command Center**

Coulson is tied up when a punch is thrown his way, Camilla nods at the soldier causing him to stop as Coulson spits out blood

"The reason I'm still alive is because you need me to verify the change of routes for your pilot when H.Q. calls in any minute now" He states 

Camilla slowly walks around the holo-table "I'd appreciate that."

"But if I don't, S.H.I.E.L.D will shoot his aircraft out of the sky, that'll take the 0-8-4 out of your hands," Coulson says

"Maybe I should let them" He states

"Oh, no, I think you'll make the calls, you already handed me your plane for the life of one of your little lab rats," She says leaning against the holo table casually

"If I open the cargo hold, you'll lose them all" She tuts before squatting down next to him

"And you are such a sentimentalist," She says tilting her head, almost looking regretful

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Downstairs in the Cargo hold Fitz, Simmons, Skye, Ward, and May are all tied up

"This is my fault, I should have learned kung fu" Fitz starts

"Oh, yeah, but I shouldn't have pushed you into the field in the first place, you weren't ready," Simmons says looking at Fitz with an apology in her eyes

"It was my job to make a proper threat assessment, we weren't ready," Ward says

"This would have happened either way," Skye says causing all three of them to look at her

"What? They had the numbers, they got the jump on us, and May was in the cockpit," Skye says

"Maybe if May wasn't in the Cockpit we would have stood a chance at least" She mutters the last part, mainly to herself

"Agent May? No, no, no, she transferred from administration" Fitz says

Skye just snorts 

"You've heard of the cavalry?" Ward ask

"Wh-- everyone at the academy talk about st--" Fitz says before both of Fitz-Simmons realizes what he meant

"She's the cavalry" They both state at the same time

"I told you never to call me that" May mutters as she wakes up, slowly sitting up and taking in her surroundings

"I can't believe it" "Oh, we're sure to get out of here now," Fitz-Simmons say at the same time.

"Um, how do we get out of here," Simmons ask the unanswered question with uncertainty

May grunts as she gets in a sitting position "Can't go through the doors, they're bolted, tied to the pressurization lines" She says

She looks at Fitz-Simmons "You two geniuses have nothing?" slightly condescending

"Yeah, well, it's hard to concentrate in these intense situations," Fitz says, clearly having stressed out

"Hey, don't freeze up," Ward states softly

"You don't need to come up with the whole solution, just part of it, right?" Ward says, staring at Skye for the last part, Skye lets out a small grin "Yeah,"

"Pieces solving a puzzle," She says before they all start planning there escape

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the command center, Coulson starts tries to get Camilla to talk about why she did this, he realizes he could get out of his bindings if he moves them more

"You knew this was a weapon all along" He states, getting her to look at him before she stares right back at the holo table screen

"But you got to it first, I had to play nice," She says a small smile gracing her lips as she looks at Coulson's face

"Yes, Coulson. For once, I'm actually ahead of you" She says before explaining what the weapon is

"My country commissioned that weapon decades ago, after the fall of Hydra, many scientists followed their Nazi friends to hide on this side of the world"

"German engineering" Coulson states, mostly to himself

She nods at Coulson before continuing "The weapon was lost during a clash in the jungle..."

"Until today that is, with it, we'll end the rebel uprising and finally stabilize my country"

"You mean rule your country," Coulson says dryly

Camilla shrugs "You stay in your borders. I'll stay in mine" She simply says

"Those borders are disappearing," Coulson says

"Aliens descended on New York, remember? They don't care whose colors you wear, they just care who's in the way" He says

"We should be working together, not fighting" He finishes with

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, that's clearly the worst idea we've heard yet" Simmons states back down in the cargo bay

"But it could work," Fitz says

"Reyes is gonna kill us the minute we land, regardless, and blame it on the rebel" Ward says

"This way, we have a fighting chance" Ward finishes 

"What's first?" Fitz ask again

"We can't get upstairs without going to the lab, and the only way to release the lab doors is from upstairs" Simmons says

"The first thing is, we're tied to the cargo door, so unless you can--" Fitz is cut off by a loud crack 

"What the hell was that?" Fitz exclaims

"Her wrist." Both Skye and Ward say as May slips out of the binding

She snaps her wrist back into place and then looks at all three of them "What's next?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Was it 11 years ago now?" Camilla ask back up in the Command Center

"You swooped in with S.H.I.E.L.D with _so_ much confidence, so much mystery, you had a 100 men at your disposal" She shakes her a small chuckle escaping her lips

"And now -- A hand-picked team" She looks at him

"And, yes, they're that good" Coulson states with confidence

"Oh, Phil. You're not even aware" She says, talking to him likes he's a child, Coulson looks at her, he feels his hands free from the rope that was currently holding him to the pole

"Your renewed idealism, your collectibles, your airborne man cave, surrounding yourself with young, attractive agents -- you're having a mid-life crisis," She says like it's obvious

"More an afterlife thing, really," He says, causing Camilla to look at him curiously

"And I'm not going to even mention the red Corvette"

"Her name's Lola," He says

She laughs "Of course it is, it's textbook"

"You built this team so you could feel relevant, to feel needed," Camilla says

"They don't need me" Coulson counters "They need time."

"Well, time is not on their side" Camilla states

"No, but you gave them something better -- a common enemy," Coulson says with a smile"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, we're sure, right? Everyone's sure?" Skye double checks down in the cargo door

"We're all on board." "Yeah, let's do this fast" Fitz-Simmons say at the same time

"No turning back, no freezing up, because if we do, then..." Ward says

"All of us die, we know" Skye finishes

"All right," Ward says they all look at each other than a car revs making them jump showing May standing on the side door 

"You guys talk a lot" Is all she says before she gets into the car and rams it into the Lab, smashing the glass

Everyone starts grabbing materials while Fitz-Simmons get the D.W.A.R.F.S up and running and send one into the vents, Ward and Skye both grab rope and chains before strapping everyone together, creating a line of rope

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_H.Q.: S.H.I.E.L.D 6-1-6, we have radar contact_

_Requesting confirmation on a change course, over._

Camilla cocks her gun pointing it straight at his head

"Answer it, or they all learn what a 30,000-foot drop feels like," Camilla says

_Agent Coulson, are you there?_

_You have course confirmation_

_You are cleared direct to the Slingshot_

He gets the rope untied, he abruptly hears the sound of the D.W.A.R.F.S and tightly wraps his hand to the pole

_~static~_

_Agent Coulson?_

_Everything all right up there?_

_We heard you had a little dustup on the ground_

He nods at Camilla who brings the walkie-talkie to him

"Yeah, we're all good, it's gonna be blue skies from here on out" Is all he says

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Simmons, forget what I said before, this is the moment that we'll regret" Is all Fitz gets to say at the door before they use the D.W.A.R.F to active the weapon, the device beeps before a beam of gamma-ray shoots out from the weapon, blowing a hole in the plane causing soldiers and objects to fly out of the plane.

Coulson holds onto the rope tightly as he's almost flung out of the plane.

The door turns green "It worked" Skye says in relief

"The drop in cabin pressure released the doors" Simmons states

"I'll take care of the soldiers, you guys get the 0-8-4" Ward says

"And Coulson?" Fitz ask "Let's hope he can handle himself" Is all Ward says before he opens the door

A soldier holding onto the wall notices them and draws his gun out and points it at the group, he starts shooting causing the four people to hide behind the half-wall, the soldier moves up to try and take Ward by surprise only to have his fist caught, Ward pulls him to the wall causing him to hit his head before it bounces back up and Ward uses his elbow to knock the soldier off the bed.

Another soldier comes up with his gun drawn and Ward leaps over the half wall, pinning the gun on the couch with his foot before using his other foot to kick the soldier in the face, making him fall onto the couch, another soldier comes up to punch him but he uses the momentum of the punch to pin the soldier on the couch before wrapping both of his arms to the couch using seatbelts

"Go now! Find the 0-8-4!" Ward yells at the 3 people behind him, while the three of them try to walk to the 0-8-4 Fitz slips causing them to lose their momentum.

Back in the cockpit, May bursts open the door and grab's the soldiers' arm, moving to the side she throws the gun out of his hands before elbowing him in the face causing the soldier to fall back on the controls making the plane take a nose dive to the ground.

Everyone back in the main-quarters falls to the ground as the plane drops, Camilla almost flies out before Coulson grabs her arm

"Camilla! Hold on!" Coulson says

Ward and the soldier trade blows before Ward's knees the man in the stomach causing him to double over, Simmons finds the 0-8-4 trying to dislodge it from the wall

"I've got it! Fitz!" Simmons yells "Reel us back in!" Skye yells as the planes pamphlet hits her in the face, she suddenly gets an idea and unbuckles the rope keeping her tied to Fitz-Simmons

"What are you doing, we need your help!" Simmons yells at Skye

"Trust me!" Is all Skye yells before with great difficulty gets up.

Back in the cockpit, May hits the soldier in the face causing him to lose consciousness before she heads for the pilot seat, grabbing the controls and steadying the plane taking a deep breath while doing so.

In the main-quarters Ward gets hit in the side grunting while Skye gets out the life raft, the soldier that was previously attacking Ward grabs onto the rope and tries to get the 0-8-4 from Simmons "Cut me loose!" Simmons yells at Fitz who does exactly that causing the soldier to fall back into Ward knocking them both over before the soldier flies out of the plane, Skye activates the raft causing it to close the hole in the plane, catching Ward before he also flies out.

All of them take a deep breath as Skye goes over to Ward and helps him up

"I read the safety pamphlet," She says

"I think you might be the first," Ward says breathlessly

"No other way in, huh?" Coulson says to the four of them and they all look down sheepishly

"Was just starting to warm up to this place" He muses

"The 0-8-4 is cooling and stable" Simmons chimes in 

"But we should call H.Q. and get it to the Slingshot as soon as possible" She finishes

Coulson looks down at Camilla who is now tied up "Told you they were good."

**3rd Pov, Location: The Slingshot**

The sound of tools working in the plane fills the silence as Coulson checks on Lola

"Not a scratch, but your plane's totaled," Skye says making him jump 

She grins at him "I hope S.H.I.E.L.D insurance covers hijacking" 

"Sure, under 'incidentals'" He says causing her to chuckle

"What exactly am I signing up for Coulson?" She asks

"As I said -- front-row seat to the craziest show on Earth, not that you haven't seen crazy," He says

"It got crazy pretty fast though," She says looking at the 0-8-4 being wheeled off

"You sure you're just gonna destroy the damn thing," She asks

"Slingshot is protocol, a weapon like the 0-8-4 is too dangerous for any person or country to have" He states

"People like Reyes would always be after it," Coulson says as Camilla gets into a S.H.I.E.L.D issued SUV before driving off

"What happened with Reyes, anyway?" Skye questions

"I expect the Peruvian government will negotiate for her release, she probably won't spend much time in jail," He said, avoiding the question

"No, I mean what happened with you and Reyes?" She says, grinning

"You guys totally did it back in the day, right?" She asks

Coulson grins at her "That's classified" Is all he says before walking off making Skye laugh

On the other side of the Cargo Hold Ward and May are cleaning their weapons

"Looks like Skye might end up as more than just a consultant, despite our reservations," Ward says causing May to glare at him

"Ok, ok, my reservations" He gives in

"But, she could turn into a solid asset... with some serious work," He says

"I wouldn't be too sure," May says, Ward looks at her

"Coulson talked about her back when we were partners, she could take care of herself" Is all she says

He hums "She'd need a supervising officer," she says

May looks at him and he just raises an eyebrow

"All right I'll do it," He says and May walks offs

"Just to clarify, you were, uh, talking about me, right?" He asks, May for her part just smirks

Fitz-Simmons walk out and sit on the Cargo ramp 

"We blew up a plane" Fitz states proudly

"I had a new experience, eat that, Professor Vaughn" Fitz finishes

"You had a new experience, but it was new for all of us," Simmons says

"Hey, come on, you guys don't want to miss this" Fitz says making everyone to sit down and grab a beer from the cooler

"Now, yes, of course, it would have been faster if they'd used hydrogen-fueled APUs, but they're having fun," Simmons says while taking a sip of her beer

"How many of those have you guys had?" Skye asks

"Sk-- Skye" Simmons laughs

"It's important when in the field to unwind from time to time" She sates

"Yeah, yeah, especially after a hard day of everyone almost dying" Fitz adds on

"Which doesn't happen every day, right?" Simmons rhetorically asks

"It's an anomaly -- an irregularity, not... the norm," Simmons says

"Speaking of 'not the norm,' whose idea was it to blow a hole in the plane?" Coulson asks, everyone looks at each other, Skye steps up and says "May said that the doors were tied to the pressurization, so I thought --"

"So we thought it was the only way to release them" Ward corrects her

"It was everyone's idea, sir," Simmons says

"Yes, quite genius, really" Fitz continues

Suddenly the PA system turns on signaling that the rocket was taking off 

Fitz plugs his nose and imitates the PA system 

"Launching..."

"In three..."

"... Two..."

"...One" He finishes, everyone smiles at him

"The trajectory will take it beyond Lagrange point so that it doesn't hit Herschel-" Simmons starts off saying

"And there haven't been any coronal mass ejections, so it shouldn't lose telemetry," Fitz says, finishing Simmons sentence

"Guys, English" Ward says he says as they all stare at the rocket take off

Skye's phone dings as she looks down 

' _Rising tide in a holding pattern._

_Planning to go dark._

_What's your status?'_

The message says, Skye looks up at all of them before looking back down

' _I'm in'_

Is all she texts before deleting it and slipping her phone back into her pocket

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

The sound of two SUVs fill the comfortable silence the group was in for the past 2 hours, they all look at the two SUVs and their eyes widen as Director Fury steps out

"Coulson,"

"Director," Coulson says stepping up to shake his hand

"To what do we owe the pleasure"

Fury ignores that question and looks at the group "How long have you had this plane for" he asks Coulson

Coulson looks down "6 days" he mutters 

"Exactly, it seems you just love to cause trouble" Fury states

"What are you doing here sir?" Coulson asks

"He found out you're alive, wasn't too happy about it," Fury says and Coulson's eyes widen

"Oh shit" 

"Oh shit is right Coulson"

"Is he coming?"

"He's already here," Someone says, Fury at least looks a bit sorry for him, the rest of the group all look at each other questioningly

Before they can ask the other SUV door opens and a man with short black curly hair steps out, wearing sunglasses, combat boots, combat pants, a light blue shirt, and a leather jacket.

He looks at all of them before his eyes are set on Coulson

Coulson gulps as the man steps to them

"Shaw," he says

"Coulson" comes the reply of the man Coulson called 'Shaw'

"How'd you find out I was alive" 

"I have my ways" He states mysteriously, Shaw steps up to Coulson and looks at him up and down

"You're looking good. For a dead man," Shaw states flatly

"I'm getting that a lot," Coulson says

"I'm sorry who are you?" The sound of Ward's voice comes

"Names Shaw, I'm an old _friend_ of Coulson's, when I found out he was alive I came to Fury, he spilled the beans, told me you were alive he just kept it a secret," Shaw says

He looks at them, finally taking off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of bright blue eyes

His eyes catch Skye's for a split second longer than everyone else's before he's looking back at Coulson

"Shaw here will be joining you," Fury says

"Wait, what, sir, we don't have enough room!" Ward exclaims

"You do now, and you could use the help," Fury says causing Ward to look down at the ground

He looks at Coulson "Good luck" is all he says before he's back in the SUVs, driving off

Coulson looks at all of them and then back at Shaw "Welcome to the Bus" He smiles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback as always is appreciated  
> Meet my own OC  
> Some characters will have a darker background and I will go into them more than the TV show does


	5. Hang in there Doc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Thanksgiving is coming closer updates might not be up as often, but I'll promise I'll try

_ **1x03** _

_Radio: 'Big boy, this is little boy._

_How'd things go down at the chicken coop?'_

_"Weigh-station inspector needs to learn some adult words and a bit of hygiene, but he waved us through." A man says_

_"The cargo is secure. It looks like a clean shot from here."_

_Radio: 'Roger that. Little girl will take point on your front door.'_

_'See you at the drop stop, Mack. I'm clear.'_

_All of a sudden the car goes flying being thrown up in the air by nothing_

_"Son of a bitch. Do you see that?"_

_Radio: 'Little girl is down. Repeat, escort two is down.'_

_"I know, Sherlock. What the hell hit us?" Mack says_

_"We need to go to alt two, alt two." He repeats in the radio as he changes routes_

_Radio: 'Nothing over our shoulder. Back door's clear.'_

_'Protect the cargo at all costs.'_

_"S.H.I.E.L.D. region CT, this is Agent Mack. We are under attack from an unseen I-don't-know-what." He says_

_Radio: 'Agent Mack, advise nature of the threat, over.'_

_Just as he is about to try and explain his truck lifts off the ground "What in the holy name of..."_

_"S.H.I.E.L.D. region CT ... oh, hell, I can't explain." Is that last he says before his truck gets smashed into the ground_

_Soldiers come out of the woods as they open the back of the truck to reveal the S.H.I.E.L.D symbol on a steel door when they open the door a man with glasses is strapped down in a seat, he's adjusting his glasses_

_"Are we there yet?"_

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

Skye walks down to the Cargo hold to find Ward on the punching bag

"I'm tired of waking up so goddamn early in the morning," She says as a way of greeting him "When I said I wanted to officially join S.H.I.E.L.D, I did not mean 24-hour fitness"

"It's called relative strength training, starting with the basics," Ward says

"And next time, you do 15 push-ups for every minute your late," He says

She scoffs "Fine, Mr. Fun Machine," She says walking up to the bag

"Stand here. Jab cross, like this" He says grabbing her arms to put them in position 

She lazily starts punching the bag

"You know the hardest part about boxing?" He asks

"Getting punched in the face?" She says sarcastically

"Keeping your hands up" As he says that he grabs her arms and raises them up

She sighs "This is stupid,"

"Fitz-Simmons' definitely didn't do this with there S.O"

"You said you wanted to be a Field Agent, like Coulson," he asks

"I said, I finally want to join S.H.I.E.L.D to work with him," She says in frustration hitting the bag a little bit harder

"Well, if you'd like to switch disciplines... Hey Simmons" Ward says causing Simmons to look up from the work she was doing with Fitz

"What did your S.O give you guys for morning drills?" He asks

Simmons face brightens significantly as she explains "Oh, atomistic attribute drills-"

"-Yeah, we'd name the mechanical, chemical, thermal-" Fitz says

"-Electrical properties of materials," Simmons says finishing their conjoined talking

"Okay, okay," Skye says

"There will come a moment when you have to commit to this or bail, every field agent has a defining moment. Ask Coulson" Ward says

"When you have to make the hard call to either dedicate yourself to this or curl up in a ball and run."

"How can you run if you're curled up in a ball" She states and stops punching all together

"It's my job as your S.O to make sure you don't die before then," He says as she snorts

"I don't need you to watch my back, I've done that on my own for years," She says

"So what was yours, Agent Ward? Your defining moment?" She asks effectively changing the subject

"10 minutes" He gestures to the punching bag

"Come on, tell me," She says nudging Ward and she can see him shutting his emotions off, setting his face into a blank mask

Before he can say anything Shaw walks down and Ward instantly tenses 

"We have new orders, Coulson wants us in the Command Center" Is all Shaw says before walking back up, taking the steps two at a time

All four of them look at each other before walking up the steps.

As they enter the Command Center they find May, Coulson, and Shaw all talking to each other but quickly stop talking when the four of them enter

"Glad everyone's here, let's get started," Coulson says as he pulls up the info on the screen

"A few minutes ago, a S.H.I.E.L.D transport was attacked while carrying a priority red protected asset off route 76 near Sterling," Coulson says

"Priority red" Shaw whistles

"The asset was Canadian physicist Dr. Franklin Hall, known for his work-"

He's cut off by Fitz-Simmons 

"Oh, no, not Frank" "Dr. Hall?" They both say

"He was our chemical kinetics advisor our second year-" Fitz starts

"-Yeah, he's so enthusiastic about science, we just adored him" Simmons finishes, Shaw looks at them weirdly "Do... they always do this?" He asks Coulson "You get used to it" Coulson replies and Shaw just nods his head and looks back at the mission report

"We can rescue him, can't we?" Simmons asks

"He's one of ours, we're gonna try," Coulson says

"And the attackers?" Ward ask

"Invisible"

"Wait, invisible? Cool" Skye chuckles and everyone but Shaw looks at her with a glare

"But terrible," She adds seeing the glares shes getting

"Dr. Hall was an asset?" Shaw asks still staring at the screen, directing the attention away from Skye

"One of a few select Scientists S.H.I.E.L.D has been protecting, people our enemies would love to get their hands on," Coulson says

"We keep them hidden, keep them moving" He finishes

"Which is why Fitz and I were so lucky to have him" Simmons adds on 

"We don't have him anymore," Coulson says

"Sir" Ward says

Coulson looks at Ward and sends him a questioning look

"I don't mean to pry but how exactly do you know Shaw?" He says and doesn't miss the look they both sent each other, everyone seems to look at Coulson, anticipating an answer

"Ah, that's complicated Ward," Coulson says

"I tried to kill him," Shaw states bluntly while staring at the screen

"Or not really..." Coulson says and he doesn't miss Ward tense up and reach for his gun

"He tried to kill you?" Simmons asks

"And I was going to until the idiot told me he was the person that asked for the help," Shaw says

"Not helping Shaw," May says

"You knew?" Ward says turning to May, May just scoffs

"I was the first person he told"

Coulson claps his hands causing everyone but Shaw to jump "Alright, enough chit-chat lets head on-sight"

**3rd Pov, Location: Route 76**

"So what does priority red mean again?" Skye asks Coulson as there walking to the site

"It means security should have been... heavy" He trails off at the end seeing the truck completely flipped over and a car in the tree

They walk over to the truck driver hearing the end of his explanation

"-damn scary, and I don't spook easily" 

"Nothing in the air from above?" Coulson chimes in and the agent looks over to him

"Nothing over our shoulder"

"But what's scary is they knew our route, they were waiting for us," The agent says nervously

"Are you saying they were working with somebody inside S.H.I.E.L.D?" Coulson demands

"Sorry to say... it had to be," The agent says regretfully

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Fitz, what am I seeing here?" Simmons asks

"Well, I'm not wearing the full-spectrum googles I designed, so no clue" Fitz chuckles at the end

"Let me have a look," He says as he activates the field scanner

"Wait don't move!" Simmons says as the gravel starts to fly around erratically

"What the fuck?!" Fitz says jumping back

Shaw jogs over to them hearing the commotion

"What's happening?" he asks, hand drawn over his gun

"I think the electro-static field scanner activated some... thing," Fitz says uncertainty

"Okay, can we deactivate it? Like now?" Shaw asks setting his hands back down realizing there's no threat

"Have to increase the density?" Fitz says to Simmons ignoring Shaws comment

"I tried, Fitz, but..." 

"Fitz!" Simmons yells as the gravel suddenly falls revealing a small device

"Woah," Fitz says as he squats down and goes to pick it up

"That did all this?" Shaw asked, clearly not impressed

"What is that?" Simmons asks

"Something big," Fitz says

**3rd Pov, Location: Bus**

Fitz, Simmons, Shaw, and Skye were in the lab when Coulson walks in

"Either someone cracked our comm system, or Dr. Hall's movements leaked from inside S.H.I.E.L.D," Coulson says 

"You really think we have a mole?" Skye asks

"I think you should go through the communication logs, rule it out," Coulson says to Skye before turning to all of them

"We'll work the tractor tread that we found on the scene," he says

"I can do that instead. I can upload an image of the tread pattern, check to see if there's any sort of-" Skye is cut off by Ward walking in "Already done. Matched it to a 2010 model" He says "Found a list of purchasers within a 500-mile radius, narrowed down to those with priors, financial troubles, or propensity for risk-taking" Ward says while going to the tablet to pull up what he found

"Three suspects," He says as he pulls up the face of said suspects

"Who may have sold their construction equipment to the kidnappers, we'll ask," Coulson says, finishing Ward's thoughts

"Hey Coulson," Skye says, catching the attention of him

"So you and Shaw meet when he tried to kill you?" Coulson just hums in affirmative

"Why?" She asks

He just smiles mysteriously before walking away

"Hey, wait-" She's cut off by a stack of papers being thrown on her lap by May

"Do you want me to bench press this?" She asks sarcastically 

"Read it, every communication out of HQ since they decided to transfer Dr. Hall," May says, smiling at her quip before walking back to the cockpit

"Hang in there, Doc. It's gonna be a while" She says

**3rd Pov, Location: Ranch**

"Excuse me," Coulson says leaning against his car, the man on horseback stops and stares

"Who the hell are you?" The man demands

"A concerned citizen who happens to be a member of a giant bureaucratic organization that's tracking your every move" Coulson replies back

"I haven't done anything wrong," The man says defensively

"Of course not, but you sold your excavator to some people who did, and you're hiding out here until things cool down because you know it," Coulson says and notices the man instantly tense

"I just want to know who paid you," Coulson asks 

"Paid me enough not to answer any questions like that," The man says as he pulls out a shotgun, but before he can aim, Ward comes up from behind and rips the gun out of his hands, grabbing his arm and throwing him to the ground, pointing the gun at him.

"Feels like the old west" Ward jokes

"They gave me money for my equipment," The man says instantly with his hands raised

"That's all, I never saw a face, I never heard a name" He spills out 

"And how did you receive this money?" Coulson inquires

"They write you a check?" Ward asks, and the man gestures to the sachel on the horse, Ward pulls it off the horse and dumps it, revealing several gold bars 

"Paid you in gold? Now it really feels like the old west" Ward says while the man just chuckles nervously

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It looks like this because it's a doré bar" Simmons' voice sounds throughout the lab as she gets the photo of the 'gold bar'

Getting a confused look from Skye and Shaw she explains "It means it was made at the mine rather than in a refinery-"

"-It's only about 92% pure, the cowboy got cheated a bit" Fitz finishes

"Can you determine the mine based on the impurities?" Coulson's voice comes over through comms

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We've done that already" Fitz says

"It's from Dacey mine in Tanzania, which is owned by..." Fitz says

"Quinn Worldwide," Simmons says

"I'm sure you studied the C.E.O in your chemical engineering classes or saw him on the cover of Forbes... Ian Quinn" Coulson says

**3rd Pov, Location: Malta**

"We can't just pluck it from the ground like a potato," The annoyed yet calm voice of Ian Quinn says to the woman walking next to him

"It needs to be extracted from the ore and enriched" he finishes

"I know" women

"You know, tell him his investments paid for that ridiculous yacht of his and that he'll thank me at the shareholders meeting," Quinn says before the assistant nods and walks away.

He heads to the base underground and opens the door to reveal Dr. Hall tied up

"Why is he tied up?" He questions his bodyguard's

"Does he look like a threat?" He says before he shoos the bodyguard's outside

"I'm sorry about those guys," He says as he kneels down to untie Dr. Hall

He laughs at the man "Welcome to Malta, Frank" He says

Dr. Hall chuckles and rubs his wrist "You know, it's one thing to steal my ideas, Ian, but stealing me?"

"First of all, I never stole your ideas" Quinn starts off "We've always agreed information should be free"

"Secondly, think of this as a rescue mission, Frank" Quinn finishes off

"My staff intercepted a communication about the movement of a certain asset, and when I deduced that asset was you, well, I couldn't pass up on the opportunity" 

He continues "It's a little out of my comfort zone, sure"

Dr. Hall looks around as Quinn heads over to pour some scotch "Malta, you're not stupid, S.H.I.E.L.D can't come after you here" he says

"Not just S.H.I.E.L.D, I am now a naturalized citizen of this fair country" Quinn states as he walks over to Dr. Hall holding out a glass "Stunning beaches, beautiful tax laws, and a deep-seated hatred of outside forces telling them what to do," he says raising his glass and taking a sip

"Sounds like your dating profile" Dr. Hall retorts

Quinn laughs "Right, I moved my entire operation down here" 

"Bought the old prime minister's estate. It's not really my style, but it had this _huge_ underground facility, so I figured, hey" Quinn says shrugging at the end of his sentence

"Always been a stubborn bastard, now you've finally found a place where the watchdogs can't touch you, not without breaking international law" Dr. Hall states

"Ahh, but more importantly, old friend, they can't touch you" As he says that he opens a window revealing a prototype design "Recognize the design?" He says

"We were barely old enough to drink when you sketched the blueprint," Quinn says, Dr. Hall was about to speak when Quinn puts up his hand "That's just a miniature prototype"

"A theoretical machine powered by a theoretical substance, Frank, you were right!" exclaims Quinn

"You found it?" Dr. Hall says in astonishment, and Quinn just nods

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Gravitonium" Fitz says and whatever Shaw was doing he instantly stopped, popping his head up, his face has shock written all over it

"It's an extremely rare high-atomic numbered element-" Fitz starts

"-That powers the device. It's so extremely rare that most people didn't believe it existed, much less the theory that an isolated positive charge-"

"-Would turn the flow from isotropic-" Fitz gets cuts off by Skye waving her hands

"Guys, high-school dropout here," Skye says "How does the device work again?" 

"Well, Gravitonium distorts gravity fields within itself, causing an undulating, amorphous shape-" Simmons starts

"-Which causes these, um... wiggly bits here-" he indicates to the lines "-But when an electric current is applied, the Gravitonium solidifies. And those gravity fields erupt, randomly changing the rules of gravity around it" Fitz finishes off for her

Shaw is still there sitting there unmoving and Fitz notices "Uh, Shaw..." he says which snaps Shaw out of whatever he was in "I'm fine, I uh, I just realized I recognize the design" 

Simmons looks at him "Really?"

"Yeah beside it being Dr. Franklin Halls design... I also protected the design" He grits the last part-out, all three of them look at him

He sighs "I also know Dr. Hall attended the University of Cambridge at the same time Ian Quinn did"

Skye chimes in "What if Coulson's wrong with this, Quinn is a notoriously good guy"

"He's not," Shaw says cutting off whatever else Skye was gonna say "He has hits set out for half the people he knows, threatens people to work with him, and is not afraid to order someone to kill someone just if they get in his way, he never gets his hands dirty though so people never think he is the one who did it" 

No one says anything just looks at Shaw weirdly before Simmons changes the subject "He leeches off of the Earths resources, and it looks like he's dug up another"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"20 years, 12 mines, 6 continents, but, yes, I finally found it," He says as he shows the large prototype device holding the Gravitonium to Dr. Hall

"And now we get to play with it" He chuckles 

Dr. Hall laughs and says "Do you remember in our talks on Orchard Street the part where it's very, very dangerous?"

"Everything powerful is dangerous" Quinn counters 

"But I'm not gonna convince you with more talk... talk of 50% shares, talk of Nobel prizes. No, not you. You... will just have to see it" He says enthusiastically

"I built a full-size generator, but I need you to tell me how to control the gravity fields, you can complete your life's work, Frank." He says facing Dr. Hall

"I plan to do this with or without you, but I know you. I know you'd want it done right"

He puts a hand on his shoulder and Dr. Hall looks at before looking back Quinns face "Now's the moment when you thank me" He says with a smile

**3rd Pov, Location: Command Center**

"The man's a prisoner, and it's up to us to get him out," Coulson says to the group in front of him

"We've checked the specs, there's no way into Quinn's compound without a large S.H.I.E.L.D strike force or a man inside"

"He's got neodymium laser fencing surrounding the property, they'll never allow a strike force into Malta" Ward finishes 

"They'll never allow a strike force into Malta," May says

"Plus, this weekend, Quinn worldwide's got its annual shareholders gathering," Coulson says "We'd risk global outrage, but..." 

"If we go in alone..."

"S.H.I.E.L.D can disavow us, claim ignorance" Coulson finishes

"Without a man inside, it's impossible, unless you're immune to pulse laser emissions," Simmons says

"If we had a monkey we could get in" Fitz starts off

"Ugh, Fitz!" Simmons said

"If we had a monkey, he could slip through the sensors and disable the fence's power source with his adorable little hands," Fitz stubbornly says

"I could go in," Skye says distractedly on her phone, Shaw and May are the only ones who look at her

"Drop me in the hills outside of Valletta, I'll spend a few weeks establishing a cover, gathering intel-" Ward says completely ignoring Skye's statement

"Hall doesn't have few weeks," Coulson says, cutting Ward off from saying anything else

"And to restate, any Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, caught on Maltese soil can be shot to death with bullets..." Simmons says, trailing off

"Yeah, legally," Fitz says

"Not me, I could go in," Skye says more loudly

"Skye, this is serious," Ward says, annoyed

"Wait, what are you saying?" Coulson asks

"Well, I'm not an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, so I can go in without breaking all these stupid rules," She says "Preach," Shaw chimes 

"International laws," Simmons says looking at Skye and Shaw with a glare

"This isn't something the Rising Tide can hack, Skye" Ward says

"Did you hear the deadly lasers part? Without a brave monkey-" 

"You said you could go in with a man inside" Skye states

"And you want to be that man?" 

"Women," Shaw says and Coulson just glares at him

"Fitz-Simmons loved the guy, and he needs help, they could be torturing him," She says looking up from her screen "Or worse, making him do strength-training," She says with disgust

"But you don't have the background or clearance or experience with any of this" Ward says

"Actually I do," She says "But I've got an invitation"

She smirks at everyone's faces before looking back at her screen "Well, technically it's an e-vite"

"I can join her too," Shaw says and now its everyone's turn to look at him

"Aren't you a S.H.I.E.L.D agent?" Fitz asks

Shaw snorts "Far from it actually" and everyone besides Coulson and May looks at confused

"You could be her backup, but you'd have to stay in the shadows," Coulson says

"You know I can" Is all Shaw says

"Ok, let's go over the plan," Coulson says

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I understand your concern Ward, but I trust her"

"But why sir! You don't explain why you trust her or even Shaw for that matter"

Coulson sighs "She was caught trying to hack S.H.I.E.L.D before but instead of arresting her we used her for help, she fixed holes that our level 7 tech supports couldn't find, plus she was in a dark time, I helped her Agent Ward, and I've gotten to know her"

"She can and will do this Agent Ward" Is all Coulson says and Ward sees it as a clear dismissal

Huffing in frustration Ward exits out of Coulson Office

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shaw walks down to the cargo hold to find Skye at the punching bag

"What did the bag ever do to you," He says, making Skye jump

She turns around, her eyes squinted "I didn't hear you, why didn't I hear you" She asks

He just smirks "I'm like you" Is all he says before Skye's eyes widen and she starts talking excitedly

"Really, I've never met anyone like me, what animal are you, how'd you get it, er wait, sorry not a good question, I mean, do you know anyone else?" She asks and Shaw chuckles a bit

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," He says and she shuts up "Good point" She mutters before she looks back at him "Do you know anyone else?" She asks, and it's so desperately said that Shaw feels a little sorry 

"Yeah I do," He says

"Who," she asks

He looks around better whispering "May" and her eyes widen

"Now do you know how to disarm someone," He says and it's such a sudden change in topic that it catches Skye off guard 

"Yeah"

"Show me," Shaw says before taking his gun and cocking it, on instinct Skye grabs his hand and wraps her arms around his, stripping the gun from him before turning back around 

"Good," He says "That should help"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Skye and Shaw will walk in the front door" Coulson starts off

"The only external access point to Quinn's underground facility is from a beach cove, A two-man extraction team would slip in there, but it's not easy"

"Fitz-Simmons" He indicates to them letting them talk

"The perimeter is surrounded by a 20-foot-high neodymium laser grid," Simmons says

"Touch it you're toast, deep toast" Fitz adds

"The only way to disable the grid is to crack the system and trigger a reboot, this would give the team three seconds to cross," Simmons says

"Of course, Quinn's too smart to allow any wireless access on his property," Coulson says

"That's where I come in," Skye says

"Yes, working compact... holds up under x-ray" Fitz says showing a blush applicator

"Desert rose to match your complexion. Oh, and there's this" before opening the applicator showing three red dots blinking

"A readout, okay?" He says to Skye who nods

"Turns green if you're in close enough proximity to a computer to gain wireless access"

"When it does, you just drop this nearby and walk out" Fitz finishes explaining

"We'll do the rest," Coulson says

"It will be if you stick to the plan," Ward says

"Got it," Skye says, ignoring Ward's statement

"Shaw you'll be back up inside, if it goes south, forget the mission just get Skye out of there," Coulson says

"By any means necessary" He adds seriously and Shaw nods, understanding what he's trying to say

They all walk off, but May stays where she is and Coulson raises an eyebrow "I don't want to question your orders Coulson" May starts off 

"Good," He says

"But I've already seen far more combat than I bargained for, two-man extraction team? It's exactly the kind of action I was hoping to avoid" She says

"That's why you're not on it" Coulson states like its obvious

May looks up to Coulson meeting his eyes, barely hiding her concern

"When was the last time you-" 

"Hall's one of ours, and he's in trouble, I need two men to get him Ward makes one, so that's why I'm going in," He says

"You forget... I saw plenty of action with the Avenger" He says before walking off

"And you died" she mutters the last part to herself before heading to the cockpit

"All right, team, suit up" Coulson yells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some shifter talk finally! Also, let me know if you want the Shifter stuff to become a little bit more important than it is right now!  
> As always feedback is most appreciated!


	6. They All Go Falling Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this took longer than expected I accidentally deleted it so I had to start over

**3rd Pov, Location: Quinn's Villa**

Skye steps out of the taxi, checking her surroundings, she moves to the front entrance, the guards check her invitation and let her through when they come up clear.

Walking to the back of the Villa to find the party as a waiter comes around and she grabs a glass of champagne

"Hors d'oeuvre, madame?" Comes a voice from behind her, she turns around to find a man looking at her

"Je suis désolé, Je ne suis pas une serveuse," She says and the man smiles, he was about to say something else when another man hurries to catch up to him

"Oh, apologies for his manners. He knows very little English" The other man says

"Oh that's fine," She says smiling "Skye" as she holds out her hand

"Qasim Zaghlul," Qasim says taking her hand and shaking it

She smiles "Big fan, you built half of Dubai, including the Arabian blade. I love that building, it's super sci-fi" She says and Qasim beams at her

"Where's your wife..." She trails off _"Wife's name's Nadrah"_ Mays voice comes through on comms "...Nadrah?" _"Twin sons"_ May adds "She staying at home with the boys?" She smiles "How's she doing?" 

Both men smile at her and say their goodbyes

_"She's good,"_ Fitz-Simmons say through comms

Skye chuckles and states "I could get used to this, people."

She takes another sip of her champagne when Quinn walks in with some business people "I see Quinn" Skye says "I'm gonna go talk to him" 

Walking up to Quinn she hears the end of there conversation before she jumps in "Ian Quinn. I'm your last-minute party crasher" 

"Skye," She says holding out her hand

"Oh, wow, great to meet you," Quinn says with a smile, he shakes her hand before turning to the group he was previously talking to

"Um, this is Skye, a member of the Rising Tide, they're a group of hackers," He says and they all look at her with apprehension

"I prefer 'hacktivist'" She corrects him

"I'm glad you've heard of our site," Skye says

"I read it, we think very much alike-" He says as he puts a hand on her back and walks away from the group "-More freedom of information, less government infringing on everyone's rights..." He chuckles "I'm a fan"

"That explains the invite, this is a tough party to get into" Skye states

"Not as hard to get into as the encrypted backchannel you contacted us through to request the invite" Quinn counters

Skye chuckles "That's sort of where I live"

"You've got to show me how you did that' Quinn starts of

"I mean if you sign on" Quinn finishes with, leaving Skye bewildered

"Sign what, now?" Skye says

"I've been known to turn a few black hats into white hats, not just for vulnerability analysis, but for creative thinking" Quinn states like its obvious

"A-are you offering me a job?" Skye asks

"Well, I didn't invite you here for your pretty face, although it is a plus," He says

"But yes, I want to hire you before someone else snatches you up," Quinn says before walking off

Skye quickly gathers herself _"That seemed to go well,"_ May says through comms

"Yeah. It did" Skye muses

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quinn walks up to the podium and taps the mic, gaining everyone's attention, including Skyes

Everyone applauses, Quinn waits until it's quiet before talking

"Many of you shareholders have been with us for years, and I see a few new names here, but I want to thank you all for traveling so far to this beautiful country and, well, for slumming it at Shaba Tal-Banar," Quinn says causing everyone to laugh

"This country, where we are allowed to pursue progress and profit without the stranglehold of regulations that are now choking our world" He states

"The United States government, the R.U, the DRTC, S.H.I.E.L.D... these are just a few of the institutions that are guilty of halting the development of new technology for anyone... except themselves" Skye looks around seeing everyone nodding at that

"We dare defy them with a new idea, they come in and sweep it out from under us, but not today,"

"You're all aware of what Quinn worldwide has been able to do with basic minerals, let alone uranium or plutonium, despite these unjust restrictions that weigh the scales in the other guy's favor," Quinn tells

"Well, today, I'm announcing something new... an element that could balance those scales, and I mean quite literally" He chuckles

"Imagine if you could control gravity if instead of drilling for oil, it rose up to greet you. Imagine if you could move a super tanker's worth of cargo with a swipe of your hand" 

"Well, we will do this and more" Quinn states and Skye slips away from the speech, heading to his office

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This could have been a traumatic experience for Dr. Hall," Coulson says

"He may not be the same when we find him, Ward."

"I'll talk him down, w e don't want your personality to set him on edge" Coulson jokes

"Great time for humor, sir" Ward sarcastically says

"My people skills are the least of our problems if Skye can't get us in" Ward adds

"She will"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye walks down a hallway and finally finds Quinn's office door she heads for the door before noticing a problem

"Uh guys, It's locked, but there's no lock," She says to Fitz

_ "Eh, check for a keypad,"  _ Fitz says through comms

"Nothing," She says looking at the door

_ "Is there a reception desk?" _ May says 

"Yeah," Skye says before walking over to it

"What do I do?" She asks them

"What are you trying to do?" Quinn's voice says, she turns around and sees him walking toward her

She chuckles "Just looking for a pen, got to write down all those good ideas, you know what I mean?" 

She looks at Quinn to see him just staring at her "What are really doing?" He asks

"All right, I'm busted," She says holding her hands up before grabbing a piece of paper

"I was trying to get a glimpse behind your office doors, see how things really operate" She states

"I invite you here as a guest, and you treat me like another corrupt institution? Looking for trade secrets to leak online" Quinn fumes

"Secur-" He starts off but it cut off by Skye

"No, no, no, wait," She says before she starts to write something down

"It's just, with all these la-di-da people, you have to be so guarded, so careful," She says as she finishes writing down something

"What you say, what secrets you reveal... and... I was hoping that you and I... could be honest with one another" She states before flipping the paper over to show Quinn what she wrote

His eyes widen as he read 'S.H.I.E.L.D is listening' 

"If you know what I mean," Skye says sweetly

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ "Wow, that's a lot less space, more wheels," _ Skye says through comms

_ "And a view of the ocean and the pool"  _

_ "Not a bad place to do business,"  _ Quinn says

"Get the e spatch leaking Hall's location, User's an alias," Simmons says, handing the tablet over to May

"Oh, can you trace the DHCP server..." Fitz adds

"Trace is running, but it'll take time. Our girl?" May says setting down the laptop before nodding to the screen 

"I thought she was done for, but she's just sweet-talked her way into Quinn's office," Simmons says

"How'd she manage that?" May asks Simmons

"She probably just used her, um... uh... uh.... her, uh... ah, boobs," Fitz says, trailing off when both women glare at her

"Ugh. That's the only explana-" Fitz stops whatever he was going to say when Skye's comm line turns to statice 

"Oh my gosh, it seems it's gone-" he starts off but it cut off yet again, this time by Simmons

"Dead! Fitz!" Simmons exclaims

"What... I didn't. She must've.... oh lord" Fitz says, realization dawning on his face

_ "Hang on guys, I think Skye is still playing Quinn, don't lose hope yet" _ Shaw suddenly says through comms before he goes silent again

They all look at each other.

** 3rd Pov, Location: Quinn's office **

Skye sighs as she drops the earpiece into a glass of water 

"Much better, haven't felt that 'someone's watching my every move' feeling since I failed my driver's test," Skye says sarcastically

"You want to tell me what the hell's going on?" Demands Quinn, pacing across the room

"S.H.I.E.L.D got to you?" He exclaims

"They picked me up in L.A, I helped them in a crisis, and now they want to recruit me" Skye states

Quinn scoffs before leaning against his desk "Of course they did"

"So I played along, talk about inside info" She chuckles before continuing

"I have a bunk on their plane, I've been gathering intel, biding my time until I could become useful, I thought this qualified" Skye finishes

"Why would they trust you with a covert operation like this?" Quinn asks with a hint of disbelief 

"Something about S.H.I.E.L.D not breaking international laws" Skye answers truthfully

"They had no other options, whereas I like to keep mine open," she says, tilting her head to the side

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ "Skye's offline. Repeat, we've lost audio and vitals, Shaw says she's playing Quinn but I'm not sure"  _ May says to Coulson and Ward over comms 

"Abort is not an option, but if she's compromising-" Ward says before Coulson cuts him off

"I trust Skye" Coulson

"She's still their only way out," Ward says

"Beach is all clear, let's move up the ridge" Comes the sound of Quinn's men as they walk up the beach, both Ward and Coulson look at each other and hide

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye is currently sitting down while Quinn is still leaning against his desk

"You're saying they wanted to rope me in because I pose a genuine threat?" She asks astonished

"Yes, and fit their profile," Quinn says

"Profile?" Skye questions

"Sure, you're a criminal, you have a warrant somewhere" Quinn replies and Skye chuckles "Yup"

"Specialized skill set," Quinn says ignoring her comment

"I try to stay humble but fail, miserably," She answers

"No family" Quinn adds, Skye's face falls and becomes cold

Noticing her face Quinn says "I'm sorry I didn't mean to hit a nerve, but that is what these people do, S.H.I.E.L.D... they prey on fear and loneliness and desperation, and then they offer a home to those who have no one else to turn to" Skye looks away and Quinn leans in 

"I can offer you something better"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The three guards walk to the edge of the dunes when suddenly Ward and Coulson jump out of the bushes, Coulson grabs one of the men's guns, ripping it from his grasp before hitting him in the head with the butt of the gun, knocking him unconscious.

Ward gets two of the men's attention, the first one throws a punch but Ward catches it and knees him in the chest causing the man to double over before he drives his fist to the back of his head, the other man tries to go up behind him and throws a punch that Ward ducks under before flipping the man over and kicking him in the face.

Coulson grabs the unconscious mans gun and starts to dismantle but jams it "Damn, a little rusty, I guess" Ward gestures for the gun and then throws it haphazardly at the laser barrier causing it to disintegrate 

"Guy's clock's ticking. Where's Skye?" Ward questions

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You stay with us, there's no secrets, no lies, and no agenda" Quinn starts off

"You're free to do what you do without big brother watching over you" Walking away from her only to sit down next to her on the couch

"But first, you have to tell me exactly what agenda S.H.I.E.L.D sent you in here with" He questions, leaning forward 

"Well, they wanted me to do whatever it takes to get in here" She states as she reaches into her purse and pulls out the blush, seeing the blinking red lights turn green she smiles and sets it down on the table 

"Bat my eyes, get you talking," She says

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sound of beeping causes the group in the Bus to jump up

"We're in!" "She's done it!" May and Simmons say at the same time

"Fitz, you're up," May says and Fitz runs over to the holo table

"Oh, mother of all things," He says to himself 

"Move, move, move!" He says to Simmons, pushing her out of the way and begins to rapidly type on the holo table

Ward and Coulson were tying up the unconscious guards when the radio crackles to life _'We have a man down. Hostiles on the east ridge!'_

They abruptly start getting shot at and they take cover behind the bushes "We need reset here, Fitz!" Coulson yells "Fitz!"

"Saying his name repeatedly does not increase productivity!" Simmons shouts back 

"Okay, go!" Fitz says as the lasers deactivate

"Oh, maybe it does," Simmons says to herself

Coulson and Ward both jump through the laser fence just as it reset and they stare at Quinn's guards before walking to the Villa

"I'll look for Dr. Hall down in the lab," Coulson says

"I'll get Skye," Ward says

"No, Shaws got her, you clear out the guards in this place so its easier to extract Dr. Hall," Coulson says walking off before Ward can reply

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No, you can't be the only angle," Quinn says 

"S.H.I.E.L.D's thorough enough to know about me and my exploits, it takes more than a pretty face to disarm me" He states, just as he says that, three of his guards walk into his office "Sir, we have a security breach" One of them states and Quinn sighs before standing up and looking at her

"Oh, the timing on that was perfect" Skye cracks, Quinn's lips are set in a thin line, grabbing the blush before grunting in frustration, he breaks the blush and turns around to grab something from his guards before turning back around with a gun pointed at her, she straightens and stares at the gun

** 3rd Pov, Location: The Underground base **

Coulson walks into the room finding Dr. Hall on a computer 

"Dr. Hall, Agent Coulson, we have an exit strategy" Coulson states "S.H.I.E.L.D?" Dr. Hall asks

"Yes, sir. Let's get you out of here" Coulson replies turning around to open the door 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Coulson but I'm right where I'm supposed to be," Dr. Hall says

Coulson just stand there, in surprise "I'll be honest, our strategy did not take into consideration you saying that"

Coulson steps to face Dr. Hall "Look, I don't know what Quinn is promising you, but-" He starts to say but is cut off "An opportunity," Dr. Hall tells

Coulson looks at the gravitonium as the device starts to spin

"We can't let Quinn have control of this" 

"We can't let anyone have control of this, that's why I'm here, to bury it at the bottom of the ocean. With him." Dr. Hall corrects him

The device starts to light up as the spinning increases and Coulson steps up to the glass

The sound of his comms crackling to life startles him _"Coulson, the leak came from-"_ "-Dr. Hall. Yeah, I'm getting that" Coulson finishes for her

"All petitions, embargoes in the world couldn't stop Ian," Dr. Hall says, adjusting the controls on the computer "He grows more powerful every day, and then I get word he's found this."

Dr. Hall clicks a few buttons and the gravitonium starts to spin faster, the room begins to tremble

"I'm sorry, Mr. Coulson, I had to make a choice," Dr. Hall says looking up to him, almost sounding regretful as he presses a button and objects start to fall to the ground

"Something tells me that wasn't the 'off' button!" Coulson exclaims before he gets thrown into the wall, knocking him out

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson wakes abruptly instantly going to comms "Guys, we need to talk"

_ "Lost you for a minute," _ May says through comms, relief in her voice

_"We're aware of the problem sir, Hall wanted Quinn to kidnap him?"_ she continues

_"Yeah, why would he do that?" "What is wrong with him?"_ Fitz-Simmons asks at the same time

"Quinn built a gravity generator, like the one we found, but bigger," Coulson says, slowly getting up

"Hall knew Quinn would need him to control its raw power, but Hall just wanted to unleash it" Coulson continues, getting onto his knees

_"The one we found was 2.5 centimeters in Diameter, it stopped a semi, how big are we talking?"_ Simmons says

"12 feet, It'll definitely take down the entire compound," Coulson states

_"It'll sink the place" "No, It'll do more than that"_ Fitz-Simmons say

"Work a solution, I'll disconnect the power before things get... crazy" Coulson says trailing off in the end when he fully stands up, finding himself on the ceiling

"They can't help you," Dr. Hall says, gun in his hand, heading over to a cabinet 

He smiles when he finds a bottle of scotch and a glass

"Soon, it'll reach an exponential acceleration state" He states, leaning down to grab a chair

He sets it down and sits on it, pouring scotch into the glass "I'm sorry"

They both look at the gravitonium as it starts to speed up again

"My team's here -- good people"

"Sworn to protect all mankind? That's what I'm doing, I promise -- making things right" Dr. Hall counters

The room starts to rotate making Coulson lose his balance again

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quinn shoves Skye against the wall, shoving the gun in her face

"Don't you get it? S.H.I.E.L.D's against everything you stand for" Quinn sneers

"They're big brother," He says

"Maybe, but it's not like your any better" Skye spits out

"Ordering hits on people, threatening them with there families if they start talking about your underground operations, your no better than them" She states

"Hell, you kidnapped a person! Proving my point" She yells "I set him free! I saved him!" Quinn yells, taking a step back

"And I could've saved you," He says regretfully

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This place is massive," Ward says as he takes out more guards

"Where am I heading?" He asks May

_"Southwest corner"_ May replies

The place begins to shake and Ward quickly regains his balance "I'm working on it" Ward says "Shaw, you any closer to Skye" He asks through comms

_"Calm your tits man, I'm getting there,"_ Shaw says

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room shakes causing Skye and Quinn to almost lose their balance, Skye looks around for an exit strategy

"Tell me what they're doing!" Quinn yells

Skye takes a step back instinctively

"Tell me what they're doing" Quinn demands more softly, "You have to talk, you have no other way out of this" He states

He laughs before pointing the gun at her "You're expendable to S.H.I.E.L.D, they sent you in here with nothing"

As he says that Skye steps under Quinn's arm grabbing the gun with one hand and his wrist with another before turning to is stomach and spinning out with the gun drawn on him

Quinn steps back, holding his hand out like he has the gun still, scoffing

"They taught me a few things" Skye states smugly "Some I already knew"

"Kid's got balls," The guard behind him says with his arms slightly raised

"Thanks but... yuck" She replies

"But do you have what it takes to pull the trigger?" Quinn asks and Skye tilts her head to the side, seemingly contemplating

"I could but that would be more trouble than it's worth," Skye says before she turns around running to the edge of the balcony and jumping into the pool

"Get her" Quinn states and the guard begins to run to the balcony when the room begins the shake violently, causing them all to fall

Quinn grunts and slowly gets up before noticing a pen levitating "Hall" He simply states

"We have to evacuate"

"Get the chopper," He says, when they don't move he yells at them "Now!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson falls yet again as the room shifts, he gets up, only to find Dr. Hall pointing a gun at him

"All I had to do to get access to Quinn's lab was to drop little clues, create a puzzle for him to solve" Dr. Hall states

"Quinn likes to _feel_ smart," He says condescendingly

"So you leaked your location," Coulson says, finishing what Dr. Hall was getting at

"Why not try to reason with him?" Coulson questions

"You can't reason with an addict-" He counters "-, and he's addicted to exploiting opportunities"

"He never gives a thought to the friends, ecosystems, future generations left ruined in his wake," He says

"Like Agents Fitz and Simmons, your former students?" Coulson questions

Dr. Hall redirects his gaze

"I've got them in my ear right now, telling me that you're not a bad guy," Coulson says

"We could've worked with you on this" 

The gravitonium starts up again causing Coulson to go flying into the ground

"S.H.I.E.L.D?" Dr. Hall says incredulously

"S.H.I.E.L.D is just as guilty of the same thing -- experimentation without thought of consequence!" He shouts

"Your search for an unlimited power source brought an alien invasion"

"Fair point," Coulson says

"T-this element is far too powerful for you, for him, for anyone!" Dr. Hall exclaims

"I don't have to tell you that, you're feeling it now" He states before the room starts to shift yet again

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A helicopter lifts off the ground as people run to the exit of the Villa, running over each other in an attempt to escape the shaking, Skye runs through the chaos, pushing people out of the way before heading down some steps and taking a right

She's cut off by three guards coming up to her, two of them grab her arm and on instinct, she elbows one of them into the stomach causing him to double over, she kicks him and turns to the other guard when she hears the cocking of a pistol behind her.

Turning around slowly with her hands up, she's about to say something sarcastic she's cut off by the sound of a low growl before a black jaguar jumps out of the bushes, bright blue eyes stare at Skye before they quickly look back at the guard, pulling its lips back to reveal large canines, the guard's gun starts to shake and faster than she can blink the jaguar pounces on the man, knocking him over before it raises its paw and slashes it against the guards throat, killing him instantly

She turns around to face one of the guards that are still catching his breath when she knees him in the face, knocking him out, turning back around to face the last guard she stops when she sees Shaw standing on top of him, ]putting two bullets in him before looking back up to face her

She runs up to him "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, let's go," Shaw says 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Objects go flying as the room abruptly changes sides, throwing both Coulson and Dr. Hall to the ground, Coulon uses that to his advantage and grabs the gun, pointing it at Dr. Hall

"I see the future, Mr. Coulson, and it's a catastrophe," Dr. Hall tells Coulson

"I just see a lot of people in trouble," Coulson says before pulling out a wire, the lights flicker but nothing else happens

"Nothing, Fitz-Simmons?" Coulson says in distress

"I tried to cut the power, it's still going"

_"Find a catalyst,"_ They both say

_"Something to create a chemical reaction in the core"_ Simmons explains

"It's not too late to do the right thing," Coulson says, trying to reason with Dr. Hall

"Help me find a catalyst-" He cuts off by Dr. Hall yet again "-I _am_ doing the right thing -- a completely selfless act," He says 

"I know that history never celebrates what didn't happen, they'll call this a-a tragedy," Dr. Hall says "they won't understand the good I did here," He says, adjusting his position so he doesn't fall from a sudden violent shake

Coulson looks over to see Skye, Ward, and Shaw looking through the window of the door

"Killing innocent people?" Coulson demands

"Saving millions" Dr. Hall corrects him

"We have to live with the choices we make, but sometimes we have to die with them, too" Dr. Hall states

Coulson looks over to the door finding Shaw motioning to the floor and mouthing 'Hit the glass' Coulson nods minusculely at him before looking back at Dr. Hall

"I understand," Coulson says before he shoots the glass out from underneath Dr. Hall

Dr. Hall screams as he falls into the gravitonium, splashing into it before it engulfs him and the gravitonium explodes

Coulson falls as the room goes up-right again, Skye opens the door Ward and Shaw trailing behind her, they all stare as the device comes to a complete stop, the gravitonium still in it.

** 3rd Pov, Location: The Bus **

"Say it back to me" Coulson says

"Deepest level of the fridge, unmarked vault, no access granted" The agent says

"And no recorded entry, I don't want it listed. I don't want it flagged for the slingshot. Anyone finds out, you're responsible -- and suffering" Coulson says,

"Understood?" Coulson asks 

"Yes, sir" The agent responds with

"That's what Hall would've wanted," Coulson says before turning around and ending the call

He grabs his gun off of his desk "Used to have this down" He sighs as he tries to dismantle the gun and it jams halfway through him trying

"Should be just muscle memory," He says to himself

"You're making a habit of it, sir," May says from behind him, making him jump

She's leaning against the entryway, arms crossed over

"Trying, guess I'm a little rusty" Coulson says, not understanding what she was saying

"Of these close calls, I mean" May corrects him

"I don't enjoy running back end" May states with a shake of her head

Coulson turns to look at May "You want off the plane? Go ahead" He says tersely

May pushes herself off the entryway and walks closer to him "I want in"

"Reporting for combat next time it's up," She says with her hand behind her back

"You committed to the cause, or just watching my back?" Coulson inquires

"Same thing" May counters, a small smile playing on her lips

"And you _are_ a little rusty" She states before walking, missing the smile Coulson has on his face 

** 3rd Pov, Location: Cargo Hold **

Ward walks down the steps to find Skye on the punching bag

"I've been holding back on you," She says

"I figured" Ward simply says

"Coulson taught me a few things when we crossed each other's paths" Skye states, she stops punching the bag and heads over to grab a drink of water

Ward just hums and Skye looks at Ward with a calculating gaze before asking "When I asked what your defining moment was you clammed up? What was it?" She questions and Ward tenses

He sighs "I had a brother who beat the shit out of me -- me and my little brother -- for nothing, for eating a piece of his birthday cake. I learned to protect us"

She nods at him before walking back to the punching bag

"You and your brothers... where'd you grow up?" She asks

"Massachusetts, mostly"

"A house?"

"You didn't?" Ward asks

She scoffs "You can't have a house if you never felt like you belonged anywhere, the closest place that I could even call home was an orphanage -- and even then it wasn't that warm"

She sighs before continuing "There was one place though, the Brody's, made me feel welcomed, that maybe the world wasn't that cruel. I was sent back 2 months later"

She laughs bitterly "And you want to know the worst part, this one was different"

"'Cause you wanted them to like you," Ward says

"Bad"

"I learned hoping for something and losing it hurts more than never hoping for anything," She tells him

"We won't turn our back" Ward states

"Doesn't matter, I made my choice, I want this." She says before she starts punching the bag again. Ward comes up and holds it and they drift into a comfortable silence

Skye looks over Ward's shoulders to see a pair of blue eyes staring at her, they blink slowly before slinking back into the shadows.

And Skye smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation- Appetizers, Mrs  
> \- I'm sorry, I'm not a waitress,  
> Some action finally!!  
> Feedback is appreciated


	7. X-Ray Vision is Cheating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello people! So I might start skipping some episodes that won't be as important as they are in this series, which won't be a lot but, ehhhhh  
> I'll do interludes for the ones I skip to show at least some character developments

_**1x04** _

_In Sergel's Square Stockholm, Sweden, the sound of drums sounds through the square when at least 25 men in charcoal grey suits, red mask, and flat caps walk through the square_

_They all head down to the subway, not saying a word, not addressing each other, cameras and iPhones recording there every movement_

_A group of them go on a train, as it starts an African American women stares at them, causing them all to stare at her before the lights go out_

_People scream as the sound of grunting echo's through the train before the lights turn back on, a security guard runs into the train to find every man in the red mask's to be unconscious, one of them missing a hand and the briefcase nowhere to be seen_

**3rd Pov, Location: Cockpit**

"Maybe I should learn to fly," Coulson says to May, as he opens the door to the cockpit

"It's not too late, right? I could learn" He continues "What do you like best... the freedom? The view?"

"The solitude." May states

Coulson nods his head "Got it, see you in Sweden" is all he says before walking out, missing the smirk May has as she flips a few controls

**3rd Pov, Location: The Lab**

"I only get one shot, and it has to knock a person back, as well as out," Ward says, staring at the small blue liquid in skepticism

"Which is why we're perfecting this little beauty," Fitz says holding out a retro-fitted gun

"Fitz that gun looks like it's from MIB," Shaw says, cleaning one of his many throwing knives, Fitz gasps in mock offense "I'll have you know this thing will knock you off your righteous ass"

Ward looks at Shaw giving him a glare and Shaw just raising an eyebrow "So what is it?" Ward says gaining Fitz attention again

".45-caliber cartridges, semi-automatic" Fitz starts to smile and Shaw just rolls his eyes

"Each mag-" Fitz says as he loads one into the gun "-Contains eight therapeutic rounds of dendrotoxin" He finishes

"In case you miss!" Simmons chimes and Ward closes his eyes and sighs deeply before looking at Simmons "Or have multiple assailants" Simmons corrects herself

Shaw snorts "You know knives are more reliable, me and Izzy have throwing competitions to see whose knives are sharper" 

Ward ignores Shaw and goes to grab the gun, Fitz pulls it back not letting him touch it "Yeah, w-we're gonna have this new night-night pistol working in no time," He states, turning back around to head to his workbench

"Okay?" He asks 

"Great" Ward says

"One thing -- we're not calling it that" Ward answers, Shaw looks up from his knife and finally puts it back in his belt

"Let the Bus kid dream Ward-" Shaw says, shout whispering the next part "-it help's him sleep"

Ward just stares at Shaw and walks away as Simmons gasps "Ah, told you" She says smugly

"Yes, we -- yes, we are" Fitz exclaims

Ward walks out into the Cargo hold with Shaw trailing behind him, Shaw opens his mouth to say something when Coulson walks down "Have you seen Skye?" Coulson asks as a way of greeting

Ward shakes his head and Shaw stops walking "Not since weapons training"

"Has she stopped saying 'bang' when she pulls the trigger?" Coulson asks

"Mostly," Ward says, still walking up the steps to head to the main-quarters

"Now, if she can just learn the difference between the safety release and the magazine release, we'll be making real progress" He finishes before entering the Common area

Coulson sighs and looks at Shaw who's just staring right back at him "You did it too" Shaw says before he heads back into the lab

"Shaw one question," Coulson asks and Shaw turns to look at him "Where is Skye?" 

Shaw points at the SUV before walking back into the Lab

Coulson walks to the car and knocks on the window, the window rolls down to reveal Skye sitting in the back seat "What's up, Phil?" Skye asks

Coulson groans, "Not this again"

"Okay, you're the boss... AC" She says and smiles triumphantly before looking back at her computer

"Just missing my van a bit, taking a little me time" She states

"I want your help with something," Coulson says, cutting straight to the chase, Skye raises an eyebrow

She tilts her head and shuts her computer off, leaning forward "Hit me with it"

"You ever rob a bank?"

"No" 

"An armored car?"

"Nope"

"How about a casino?"

"Should I be offended?" Skye asks

"Somebody's stealing millions of dollars in diamonds, they've found a way to crack the security systems" He states

"I want you to figure out their exploit"

She hums

**3rd Pov, Location: Sergel's Square Train Station**

"Yesterday, 25 men, all military, were hired by one of the largest gem brokers in the world," Coulson says as him, May, and Skye walk down to the train where the diamonds were stolen

"They dressed the men in identical outfits, gave each one a randomly assigned briefcase, and sent them along 25 different routes here in Stockholm," He says walking to one of the policemen and signing his name on a sheet before they walk into the scene

"No one knew which briefcase contained the diamonds"

"Tack" Coulson says the Policeman

"Why the Kabuki theater?" May questions

"They were afraid because somebody's targeting diamonds -- An armored car in Milan, a safe in Monte Carlo, and now this -- Over $30 mil total" Coulson states

"Each theft occurred despite heavy security," He says before squatting down at where the one man's hand was cut off

"They sound like inside jobs," May says

"A lot of people share that opinion," Coulson says tilting his head

"You don't," Skye says, it wasn't a question

Coulson looks up from the blood spot to look at Skye "CCTV cameras catch any of the action?"

"Fitz-Simmons is checking" Coulson answers "The system went dark for an hour, they think it was hacked," Coulson says, getting up from his squatting position 

"It was the same thieves each time?" May asks

"Yes, but it was just one thief -- a woman," Coulson says, May looks away

"And she did it all with her eyes closed," Coulson tells walking away from the closed

Skye furrows her eyebrows as May asks another question "Eyewitnesses ID her?"

"Black, athletic build, late 20s, early 30s," Coulson says before Skye jumps in

"So, you asked how she could have cracked the system, I have a pitch, but it's _way_ outside the box," Skye says, crossing her arms

"I live outside the box," Coulson says flatly

"There are people in the world with superpowers, right?" Skye rhetorically asks

"What if this woman has ESP or something?"

"There are no credible studies that support precognition, telepathy, or extrasensory perception" May counters

"Okay, so science says no, but this woman knew impossible things, and why did she close her eyes?" Skye asks

"That's either random or totally important, was she listening... or was she reading minds?" Skye asks, tapping her head

Getting nothing but looks, Skye says "I'm gonna go play with my phone now," Before sitting down on one of the train benches

"Why does H.Q want us to investigate these heists?" May questions

"They don't, I picked this op," Coulson says, May tilts her head in curiosity

"Any luck?" Coulson says to Skye, "Yep, I'm getting full bars, which means if I was down here and 25 guys were in scary red masks, you know what I would do?" Skye says looking to Coulson

She gets up from the seat "Instagram" revealing her phone to Coulson and May, showing an Instagram picture of the men in red masks

**3rd Pov, Location: Coulson's Office**

"It's amazing" Coulson gushes to May and Skye as he pops up photos on his screen

"Every year, this part of our job gets easier, between Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr, people are surveilling themselves" He finishes with

"With many filters to chose from" Skye quips

"I could do this pretty well when I was hacking for the Rising Tide, but you guys tag and search in ways the rest of us never dreamed of" Skye babbles

"I can run facial-recognition software on the photos, cross-reference them with our criminal databases," May says with her arms 

"You don't have to," Coulson says before pressing a few buttons and zooming in on a person

"That's the thief, her name's Akela Amador," Coulson says, his face unreadable

"You certain?" May asks

"I should be. I trained her" Coulson says sadly

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson walks out of his office with Skye and May trailing behind him "Akela Amador was a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, seven years ago, she led a raid on one of Vanchat's gulags" He says walking down the steps to head to the Command Center

"Everyone believed that she and the two other agents on the Mission were killed. I had my doubts, so I sent in a second-team just in case, they found a lot of carnage" Coulson tells 

"But couldn't confirm that any of it was Amador -- left the possibility open"

"That's why you chose this op -- when you heard about the heists" May accuses Coulson, stopping him outside of the Command Center

"There are only a few women in the world who could pull off something so impossible since both of you are on the bus I thought it had to have been her," Coulson says before walking into the Command Center with the Ward and Shaw waiting

"Swedish customs confirmed the Amador left the country using an Alias on a Swedish passport" Ward starts off

"She flew into Belarus, bought a train ticket to a town called Zloda, I've also put together a list of individuals who could Fence that many diamonds," Ward says and swipes the list onto the main screen

"There's been no contact or activity" Shaw steps in

"Maybe she's saving them for a rainy day, buying something special," Coulson says staring at the screen

"Let's focus on finding Amador," Coulson says turning to the group

"I'll let H.Q know she's alive so they can assist with the manhunt" May replies

"I'd like to hold off on that" Coulson says and both May and Skye raise an eyebrow at him

"Until we know more" Coulson finishes with

"Contact Belarus authorities, find us a place to park the bus," He says to May before turning to Shaw and Ward "Put together a list of inns, hotels, and pensions near Zolda" 

"There can't be that many of them we'll find her," Coulson says, he turns back to the screen, May, Ward, and Shaw all nod before walking away while Skye stays

"I'm not so special after all" Skye says jokingly

"I'm not your first protégée," She says and Coulson turns to look at her

"Relax, I'm teasing, hell I'm not even a real, live S.H.I.E.L.D agent yet," Skye says looking at the screen

"You two couldn't be more different" Coulson counters, turning back to the screen

"Amador was smart, talented, fearless-" Skye looks away, her eyes crinkling "-Wow, there's nothing in common" Skye interrupts in blatant sarcasm

"Let me finish. She didn't play well with others, found little value in teamwork. I thought I could instill those qualities in her. So I pushed her... maybe too hard" Coulson's states regretfully

"Don't blame yourself," Skye says

"Because this chick went to the dark side, whatever path she went down, whatever weird stuff she got into, it's on her" She states before walking away

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amador closes her eyes and spins around, canvasing the rooms, she abruptly opens her eyes. Rushing towards the door she grabs a golf club and opens the door grabbing the man by the throat and throwing him onto the bed, putting the golf club on his chest

"The agreement was to come alone" Amador states

"I did!" The man exclaims

"What about the man in the next room?" She asks and the man looks away from her

"Or the one by the stairs?"

"They're here to protect me for when I leave..." The man says frantically

"With the merchandise, Please," The man says and Amador let's go of him

The man gets, wiping his face "I'm sorry, I've never done this before" He states nervously

"May I see them?" He asks uncertainty

Amador turns to the golf bag, putting the club back in and grabbing a case of golf balls. She takes one out and grabs a cup of water, pouring it on the golf ball only for it to dissolve to show the diamonds 

The man chuckles breathlessly "The rest -- They are-" The man starts before being cut off "-In the bag" Amador finishes

"You can carry it through customs, no one will know," Amador says

"Now... it's your turn" Amador says and the man nods "When I said $30 million, I never thought anybody would --" He stops chuckling to himself

"If it fails, I will find you" Amador threatens

"It will access all the levels as promised" The man states

The man sighs and grabs the golf bag "But once you're inside, do you have a plan?" The man questions

"It'll come to me" She simply replies with

**3rd Pov, Location: Zloda, Belarus**

A white van travels through the quaint town as Simmons speaks up "How exciting, I've dreamed of visiting Zloda since I was a schoolgirl"

Fitz looks over to Simmons "Zloda, Belarus? A dream come true? Really?"

Simmons looks over to Fitz "It's the birthplace of Nobel Physicist Zhores Alferov"

Simmons rolls her eyes before continuing "I mean, technically he's from Vitebsk, but that's less than an hour from here, and I'm a bit disappointed that you didn't know that" She says, both Shaw and Skye look at each other 

"Well, no, of course, I know who that is, Father of Heterostructure Transistors, thank you very much," Fitz says

"Hey, science babies, not all of us know who that is," Shaw says making both of them blush and look down

"Plus you guys are only here to search for Amador electronically" Shaw adds

 _"Bus to Short Bus"_ Mays voice comms through the car radio

"Go for Short Bus," Ward says

"Next time, I'll decide what we call ourselves, okay?" Coulson says Ward looks over Coulson raising an arm 

_"H.Q has requested a status update"_ May adds

"What'd you tell them?" Coulson asks

 _"That we're tracking a potential suspect -- nothing more,"_ She says

"I owe you," He says

 _"More like three"_ May counters

The van comes to a stop, Ward and Coulson unbuckle leaving Fitz-Simmons, Skye, and Shaw in the car. Coulson turns to them "If Amador's here, she'll have to contact her buyer" He pulls out a gun and checks the ammo "Scan for cellphone transmissions, encrypted e-mails, anomalous broadcast signatures." He says

"Call us if you find anything that indicates her presence" He finishes and gets out of the car 

"Maintain radio silence unless you really need help, or ask Shaw," Ward says the last part somewhat reluctantly

"Well, what exactly defines needing help?!" Fitz asks, Shaw sighs and for the first time looks annoyed "Let the fun begin" He mutters to himself, taking out one of his knives and sharpening it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward and Coulson walk to the hotel that Amador was suspected to be in "I can only imagine how painful this must be for you, sir -- Betrayed by someone you trained and believed in" Ward starts with

"We don't have all the facts yet" Coulson counters

"True, but I have to assume the worst -- that Amador sold out the other two agents on her mission, wonder what she got in exchange," Ward says stopping to face Coulson

"I don't know but until we do, I'm not gonna assume anything," Coulson says before they continue walking 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"There's barely electricity in this town, can't be too hard to find our mystery woman" Simmons states in the van

"Unless she already knows we're here" Skye replies

"No, you're not suggesting some sort of precognition or telepathy because-" Simmons starts "-I know -- it doesn't exist," Skye says

"Actually it could," Shaw says and all three of them look at him "I mean a fucking Norse god actually exists, and he lives on a place we thought mythological until just recently," 

"Just because science can't explain it doesn't mean it's real-" He continues, still sharpening the knife "- Science isn't the answer to everything," He says the last part almost bitterly

"Found a server," Skye says, stopping Shaw from continuing, both Fitz-Simmons go back to work" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward's cellphone rings and he quickly grabs it 

"Did you locate Amador?" Ward asks as a way of greeting

"What? No, not yet, but we've found a broadcast with some weird signal encrypted into it" Skye says through the phone

"You think Amador might be communicating on that signal?" Ward asks

"Maybe, but I called with an equally pressing question for you, my S.O, what are we supposed to do if we have to pee?" Skye asks

"You broke protocol because you need a bathroom break?"

"It was a really, really long drive, and everyone's nervous, also Shaw's not talking to us, I think he's mad" She replies

"Shaw's mad at you guys, that's a first" He sighs "There's a container in the bottom of the blue chest" He finishes

"Bottom of the blue chest," Skye says to Simmons

Simmons opens the chest to find a water bottle, holding it up with a questioning look "Not the water bottle?" Skye questions 

"That's the one," Ward says 

"Did you never learn the thing that boy parts and girl parts are different, and our parts aren't penises?" She says the last part sarcastically

"Agent Coulson and I are trying to find a dangerous criminal. If there's nothing else pressing-" He's cut off by Skye "Well, listen, Fitz wants to know if you packed any snacks" Skye asks

"'Cause I'm feeling a bit peckish," He says to Ward

The sound of the end of a phone call rings through the van "Uh... Hello? He -- He hung up" Skye says

Ward and Coulson walk to the hotel "Shaw was mad at the three" Ward says "Huh, I wonder why usually Shaw doesn't get angry easily" Coulson says

Ward scoffs "Yeah he's just annoying" Coulson stops walking "Shaw deflects through sarcasm, it's his defense, he's been through more shit than both of us combined Ward. So before you judge someone, understand them first" Coulson says before he continues walking, leaving Ward to contemplate what he said.

They both walk into the hotel

"Dobryy den" Coulson greets the receptionist

"Good afternoon," The woman says, smiling

"I'm Agent Coulson, this is Agent Ward. We're looking for this young woman" Coulson says as he takes out a photo of Amador

The woman looks at the photo and smiles "Oh, she's my angel" The woman states

Coulson and Ward both look at each other "Why do you say that?" Ward questions

"She has a gift -- knows things. She told me to go to doctor." The woman says "He found a tumor. I'm having surgery next week, this girl saved me"

They both look at each other in uncertainty before looking back at the woman again

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can't stabilize it" Fitz exclaims in frustration

"There's an encrypted local signal competing" Fitz continues

"Mirror it over, I have a couple of Rising Tide exploits that might work" Skye states, Shaw looks up briefly from his knife

The sound of fingers clicking across the keyboard fills the silent van, as Skye gets it she begins typing quickly over the keyboard 

"One last thing," She says to herself before she breaks the encryption

"Ta-Da and you're welcome," Skye says proudly

"It's very important that we talk with her," Coulson says to the receptionist

"With her gift, I'm sure she knows you're coming" The receptionist states

Skye, Fitz, and Simmons all look at the video feed as Shaw looks behind them

"What kind of TV show is this?" Fitz asks "That looks a bit like our van" Just as Fitz says that it suddenly goes black and blue, showing four people in the van 

"What are we looking at?" Skye asks, Shaw slowly moves closer to the screen

Fitz stands up and raises his hands as the screen shows the same thing happening "Us" he states simply before the camera starts to move closer to them and the X-ray vision shuts off, the van shakes as whatever they just saw hit them, they all fall and Skye heads to the front to turn on the car only to find it not working

She grabs the gun and goes through the motions when she messes up turning the safety off instead releasing the mag "Bang" She says as the van gets rammed into, sending them rolling

Shaw grabs both Fitz-Simmons, taking the hits as the van rolls upside down

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

May waits for the group to walk in, Shaw trailing behind all of them, his leather jacket half-zipped up

"Sir, Amador attacked you and your people," Ward says, Shaw falls heavily on a chair, grunting

"Whatever regard you hold for her isn't reciprocated, she just kicked us in the teeth"

"How's the team?" Coulson asks

"Rattled, no broken bones, we're lucky she just knocked the van over so she could get away," Ward says

"Shaw took the brunt of it to protect Fitz-Simmons" Ward adds, almost sounding sorry

"Probably take a while for our folks to refocus," Ward says, just as he finishes his sentence Skye walks in, "I think I can recover the Data Signature of that encrypted broadcast, I don't understand it yet, but that's how she was watching us. Give me an hour. Maybe we can start watching back" Skye states before walking away

Ward looks at Coulson and nods before also walking away

Ward walks down to the lab to find Shaw nowhere to be seen

"Somethings wrong, it's the same feed that was watching us in the van" She looks to Fitz

"Uh, can you put it on the big monitor?"

"M-maybe the lens broke when the van rammed us" Simmons suggests

"I hope she broke more than that" Skye adds bitterly

They watch as Amador wipes her hand across a glass mirror

"It's a mirror, are we recording this?" Coulson asks

"Uh... we are now," Skye says as she presses record

"Woah" Fitz exclaims

"How are we seeing this? Where's the camera?" Coulson asks as he says that it shows a set of metal sticks before Amador grabs one and brings it up to her eye

Fitz closes her eye, Ward looks away, and Skye just stares at it opened mouth

"It's her eye, _shes_ the camera" May states

Amador then closes her eyes, showing a robotic eye to everyone in the Lab

"It switches to backscatter when she closes her eyes" Fitz announces

"You're a robot, can you do that?" Skye asks Ward who just takes a deep breath, ignoring the statement "Who has tech like this?" Ward asks, directing it towards Fitz-Simmons

"We don't -- not like this, that's at least a decade ahead of anything I've seen," Fitz says

"Though now that I've seen it, I could maybe approximate it -- the backscatter X-ray, a micro-transceiver that somehow doesn't fry her brain, an internal power source-" Fitz starts

"-All miniaturized honestly, it's-" Simmons continues 

"-Genius" They both state

"We have to bring her in," Coulson says

"We have to take her out, she's a weapon" May replies

"I'll call H.Q, see if we can bring a task force in to help us," May says and she's about to walk away when Coulson speaks up again

"Our team can handle this" Coulson says, turning to May

Everyone looks down as May's lips are set in a thin line

"I get it, you feel responsible -- maybe you pushed her too hard, but she tried to kill four members of our team" She states

"If she wanted us dead, we'd be dead" Coulson counters

"We got lucky, you want to risk our lives again?" May asks 

"You told me you were ready for combat, that you had my back," Coulson says angrily

"Don't ever doubt it, but you are defending this girl at the expense of the team?" May says

"Because we protect our own"

Ward jumps in "With all due respect, sir, she's not one of our own" he states

"Guys," Skye says, catching all of there attention

They all look onto the screen to see Amador writing down 'Can I sleep?'

"Why does she have to ask for permission?" Simmons questions

Suddenly words start to pop up on the screen 'Stand by...'

"She's not being watched" Coulson starts "She's being controlled, we have to find her," Coulson says, turning to the group "We'll take shifts watching the feed, sooner or later, she'll look at something that will clue us into her location"

"I'll take the first watch," May says, Coulson turns to May and nods

Just as they all walk away Shaw walks in "What I miss?" He asks

Ward turns to him "Where were you?" He demands

"In my bunk" Shaw states evasively

Ward scoffs "That's a lie," He says, stepping into Shaw space "What were you really doing?" 

"Ward stand down," Coulson says "No it's ok Coulson," Shaw says and looks at Ward

"You wanna know where I was?" Shaw says and suddenly raises his shirt a bit to reveal fresh stitches "Stitching myself up, so don't accuse me of something I would _never_ do Agent Ward" Shaw says, taking a step up and surprisingly Ward takes a step back 

"You might not trust me _Grant-_ " Shaw says mockingly "-But I am on your team, so treat me with respect" Is all Shaw says before walking away

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye knocks on Coulson's office door "I just wanted to give you a quick update, she's still at the hotel, so... and that's the update" Coulson just looks at her

"It's a pretty weird day, huh?"

"It's like we were trapped in a van-shaped piñata," Skye says 

"That should never have happened" Coulson states

"It's okay, I've been in worse places" She smiles

"It wasn't nearly as terrible as watching mom and dad fight downstairs, or Shaw and Ward fighting" 

"That stuff shouldn't have happened, either" Coulson adds "Shaw and Ward just don't get along because Ward is intimidated by him"

"Wait, Ward, I'm a robot Ward, is intimidated by Shaw?" Skye asks and Coulson just nods 

Skye chuckles "That's a first" "Shaw is the best of the best too," Coulson says

"What does Shaw even do?" Skye questions

"Ah, I think it would be better if that came from him," Coulson tells Skye "You regret coming along?" Coulson asks, changing the subject

"It was pretty impulsive, even for me, but it helps that you value me," Skye says

"Your one of the first people to do that in a long time, so I happen to know and believe you're an excellent judge of character," Skye says

She continues "If you think this woman deserves a second chance, we should give it to her... even though she tried to kill me and I kind of hate her guts." Skye says before walking away

Coulson smiles.

**3rd Pov, Location: The Lab**

Coulson walks down into the lab to find it empty besides a sleeping Fitz 

"Fitz"

"What?" Fitz says jumping awake

"What happened? Where's May?" Coulson demands

"Uh, I don't know" He replies

"She was watching the transmission," Fitz says, pointing to the screen

"Amador must be sleeping" Fitz states grabbing a tablet 

"Play it back" Coulson request, going to stand next to the holo table

Fitz starts rewinding it, going to stand next to Coulson, 

"There, she got another message -- Todorov building," Coulson says and they both watch as she goes to grab something to drink, noticing a receipt "Wait. Stop" Coulson says

"Can you get closer on that receipt?" Coulson asks walking closer to the screen

Fitz zooms in and Coulson's eyes widen "Damn it, May" He turns to Fitz

"Wake the others," Coulson says

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amador wakes up to the lights turning on quickly getting up and keeping her eyes down

"Whoever's monitoring you, do they have audio?" May demands

"No, but they'll use facial recognition to determine you're a S.H.I.E.L.D agent" Amador answers truthfully

"So I don't have to introduce myself" 

"Did Coulson send you?" She asks

"No, he feels sorry for you. I don't" May states

"I'm bringing you into S.H.I.E.L.D, you'll get a fair trial, and no one else gets hurt," May says walking closer to Amador

"You have no idea, do you?" Amador says

"We know that you receive orders"

"Then you know that once they see you, only one of us gets to walk out of here," Amador tells May

"They built in a fail-safe," Amador says and May tilts her head slightly

Amador looks up "Either I kill you... or they kill me"


	8. So A Robot Can Be Ticklish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two in 24 hours? I'm gonna get no sleep!  
> Translations at the endnotes!

**3rd Pov, Location: The Hotel**

Amador quickly gets up, pulling a gun out but May kicks it causing Amador to twist, she follows through and tries to kick May but she avoids it, Amador aims a fist to the face but May blocks it by bringing her elbows up and swinging.

Amador blocks the elbow but May use that to her advantage, kneeing her in the stomach causing Amador to take a step back to regain her bearings. May aims a high kick but Amador ducks out of the way, May aims for another punch but Amador grabs her arm and moves out of the way.

Amador tries to kick May but she grabs her leg and rolls under it, pushing Amador into the food cart. Amador grabs a knife from the ground and stands up throwing it at May's head but she dodges it.

Amador closes her eyes and slams her fist into the light, smashing it and making it pitch black. May looks around urgently for Amador but she can't see anything in the darkness.

Amador looks around the ground and finds the gun she previously had, aiming it at May, but before she can shoot Coulson kicks down the door aiming a night-night gun at her and shooting Amador.

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

Amador slowly wakes up to see a man with black curly hair sitting across from her, she suddenly realizes where she is and gets in a sitting position "Give it a minute" Shaw says "Coulson hit you with a powerful dendrotoxin"

"There's a kill switch in my eye" Amador states, ignoring what Shaw just said, she continues "Why hasn't my handler blown it yet?"

Shaw sighs "As far as your handler knows, you killed May, and completed the mission"

"How?" 

"Are hacker hacked the feed?" Shaw tells Amador "Personally I don't think it was worth it" He adds

"One of my teammates has taken your place"

"I get messages from my handler-" Shes cut off "-We get them too," Shaw says

"We'll complete the mission, while our scientists disable the fail-safe"

"Where's Coulson?" Amador asks 

"Outside the door most likely" Shaw states with a smirk, "He thinks I'll kill you right here, which he's not wrong" 

Shaw gets up to leave the room but stops as he puts his hand on the handle "Oh and if you ever hit me with a car again, I will kill you" He leaves, leaving Amador to question if he meant that or not

**3rd Pov, Location: Todorov Building**

Skye and Ward park their car outside of the building, scoping the place out, Skye's in the back seat while Ward is driving, wearing a set of glasses

Skye finally looks up from her computer "Where are we?" She asks 

"Todorov Building I think it's research, not military" Ward states 

"Looks more like a prison" Skye replies

"We wireless yet?" Ward questions, ignoring Skye's previous statement

"Yep. Ready to Detach" Skye says before leaning forward to detach the cord that is connected to the glasses, as she grabs it he freezes up and looks like he's going to turn around

"Don't look at me, they need to think you're her" Skye tells him

"And, oh, my god, super-spy is ticklish," She says almost giddily

She finally unplugs the cord from the glasses, chuckling to herself

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson walks into the room to find Amador staring at the wall

"Akela" He greats her

"Coulson," Amador replies "Your agents got an ugly side to him" She states as a way of greeting him

"He's not an agent," Coulson says, smirking at Amador's almost fearful look

Amador looks down "I shouldn't have gone in Coulson"

"I got caught in the crossfire, went down" She starts off with

"Woke up in some half-assed triage bay, blind in this eye" She gestures to the know robotic eye

"Spent the next four years alone in a cage at the bottom of a copper mine," She says as she takes a sip of water that Coulson handed to her

"We looked for you" Coulson states

"A team did finally come, and I thought it was S.H.I.E.L.D at first but..." She trails off

"Who were they?" Coulson says, prompting her to start talking again

"Don't know, even to this day, but they were organized. They took me to a clinic. I had multiple surgeries. Until one day, I could see out of both eyes again. I was so grateful... until I realized what they'd done" Amador tells Coulson, she looks down

"Somebody was watching," Coulson says

"My every move," Amador answers, nodding her head to what he said

"I had no idea until they sent the first message, then the assignments started. Mostly, it was 'steal this,' 'follow him,' 'break into there.' I just tried to ignore them. But when I did I'd get this pain, like an electric migraine"

"The fail-safe," He says

"Polite way of putting it," Amador says sarcastically

She looks away again "Now when I think about my years in the cage... I miss it"

"I wish I could go back, be alone, sleep in peace," She says

"I know you're tired, but I need your help," He asks

"If you want information on the prox card, you're out of luck," She says, understanding what he was going to ask

"You can't go on missions without intel," He says, frustrated

"It comes in pieces -- a name, an address" Amador states

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye double checks that the feed is working, as she gets the message the handler sends

"It would suck to live like this, wondering if someone's watching" Skye mutters to herself

"Testing backscatter" Ward states as he presses the side of his glasses, activating the backscatter, he looks at the car next to him and sees the engine pieces, clicking the glasses again, deactivating the backscatter

"Good to go," Skye says handing the backscatter device to Ward

Ward makes sure to face ahead, "Remember, I can't look at you, much less help you"

"Got it, don't count on you for help" Skye repeats what he said

Ward unbuckles and heads into the building

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come on, Akela," Coulson says, annoyed

"You've never spoken to or met anyone in person?" Coulson questions

"No, only contacts are the messages I receive from the Englishman" She states

"The Englishman -- Your handler? How do you know he's English" He demands

"The way he refers to certain things. He uses 'lift' instead of 'elevator,' 'boot' instead of 'trunk.'" She replies

"Think. What else do you know about him?" Coulson says as he starts to pace

"He's late 30s, early 40s, uses dated references -- 'disk drive' instead of 'flash drive,' 'Burma' instead of 'Myanmar.'" 

"How's his typing?" Coulson questions, he goes to sit down across from her

"Clumsy makes a lot of mistakes"

"Thick fingers, maybe heavyset" Coulson states

Amador nods with a smirk "I forgot how good you are"

He nods when his comms activate _"Sir, we're ready down here"_ Simmons says

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward walks into the building when is comms activate _"Fitz and Simmons are prepped for surgery"_ She says

He walks towards the entrance scanners

 _"Remember you have man hands, so don't look when you scan the card"_ She adds

"I know," He says

He swipes against the scanner and the red light turns green, he walks in

"Wards on sight so we don't have much time," Coulson says to Fitz-Simmons, Shaw sitting in the back

"To remove her eyeball?" Fitz says

"Yeah, ocular surgery is not really my field of expertise" Simmons states

"We've got no other choice, there's a kill switch inside Akela, could be poison, could be an explosive. Either way, if Ward's caught, they'll kill her instantly" Coulson says seriously

He starts to walk off "Where are you going, sir?" Fitz asks

"To find out whose finger's on the trigger," He says before walking away

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward walks through the barren hallways "Approaching Delta 3" He states

He scans and the scanner turns green again

He's walking through another set of hallways when he sees a mirror _"Careful! Mirror,_ " Skye says through comes

"Don't need your help" Ward tells Skye, looking away from the mirror

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Handler's definitely local," May says as Coulson walks into the Command Center

"Any idea where he's transmitting from?" Coulson asks

"Somewhere here," May says motioning to the circle 

"Every time he sends a message we get closer" She states

"Keep me updated on comm 3, I'm headed out there now," Coulson says before walking away

"I'll track him down if you want to stay here, and oversee the op," May says

Coulson turns to look at May "Thank you, but this one's mine"

"And about earlier-" He's cut off by May "Go. Find the guy."

He heads down to the cargo bay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Simmons snaps her gloves on as the sound of the heart monitor echo through the room, she smiles down at Amador "I may need your feedback during the operation, which means I have to inject a local anesthetic into your eye rather than putting you under." She states

Amador nods "Whatever's necessary"

"Right, let's begin, then," Simmons says as she grabs the needle and with shaky hands aims it right in the middle of her eye

Amador grabs her arm "Let me" and brings the needle down as Fitz looks away in discomfort

"You ok Fitz?" Shaw says as he sees Fitz look away and shut his eyes

"I'm fine" Fitz responds with

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward walks through the now empty hallway, stopping when he sees a window and a 'target confirmed, stand by' pops up on his glasses

 _"What do they mean, 'target'?"_ Skye asks

"It's never good, especially for the target, let's hope it's a knockout and not a kill" Ward states

 _"You should get out of there,"_ Skye says and Ward shakes his head "I've come this far, I'll finish, whatever it takes"

He looks back at the guard as words pop up again 'Seduce him' 

Ward takes a deep breath and with a desperate and small voice says "Help"

 _"I'm sorry, did you say, 'help'? Because a minute ago, you said you didn't want or need my help"_ Skye says 

"That was before they asked me to go all Mata Hari on this guy," Ward says, clearly panicking

"I'm just gonna knock him out," Ward says to himself

 _"Ward, wait we may need him to get through the next door,"_ Skye says

 _"Remember, it said seduce, not kill"_ She reminds him

Ward licks his lips "I don't think I'm his type" He states weakly

 _"Let me see. Cheap haircut. 5:00 shadow. Nope. Odds are you guys play for the same team"_ Skye states

 _"You're gonna have to bromance him"_ Skye adds

She continues _"Talk sports, vodka, the Victorianov Secret Catalog. Be friendly, Agent Ward. Can you be friendly?"_ Skye asks

Ward doesn't answer and just takes a deep breath and opens the door

"Почему ты здесь?" The guard asks, standing up from his desk

"Здравствуйте. Как поживаете?" Ward says

"Покажите мне свою идентификацию," The guard says

Ward starts to pat his pockets, pretending to try and find an ID

"Как насчет той игры прошлой ночью?" Ward asks 

"Твой идентификационный номер," The guard says

Ward pretends to seem exasperated as he says the guard "Я думаю, что я оставил это дома, провел дикую ночь"

"Встретил этих двух украинских девушек ... не спал много" Ward says and then gestures to the guard

"Вы знаете, как это, верно?" He asks the guard and when he doesn't even get a response 

"да?"

"да?"

Ward loses the friendly face "Guess not"

They guard goes for Ward's throat but he leans back, grabbing the arm and slamming the guards head on the table twice, knocking him out

Ward adjusts his suit and scans the card against the reader as it turns green, as it opens to reveal two people on a typewriter and equations writing all over the walls

 _"What now?"_ Skye questions

Ward walks around the desk to the other side of the room, looking at the equations and projections writing on the walls.

He stops when he gazes at what looks like lines, circles, and smaller lines crisscrossing each other, stepping forward in confusion the glasses suddenly take a picture of the wall with the writing and a message is typed 'Mission complete, good luck'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 _"They just sent another message. Coulson, he's close -- only a few blocks from you"_ May says to Coulson over comms

Coulson starts to run as May says _"He's somewhere in Victory Square, one more message should lock in his precise location"_

Ward walks out of the room when he sees a timer on the screen counting down from ten, he walks to the computer "Figured out what I needed the guard for -- his password" The alarm goes to 0 and then the alarm starts blaring

Ward leans down to grab the guards gun and heads for the exit "Meet me on the south side of the building, A.S.A.P" He tells

 _"Gotcha,"_ Skye says

Ward keeps his head down as he walks away from the place he was just in when a guard turns the corner, noticing him

"стоп!" The guard yells and Ward starts to run prompting the other man to chase after him

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fitz is looking away from the eye surgery Simmons is doing to Amador

"Please tell me it's out already" He pleadingly asks

"It's mostly out" Simmons states

"What's wrong?" Amador asks

"Nothing" Simmons replies

"But Dr. Fitz needs to step in now," Simmons says as she pulls the eye away, revealing the machine behind it

"This is his area of expertise, not mine" Simmons states and Fitz stares at the machine with his mouth open

"Fitz," She says seriously

Fitz walks over to grab the prongs that are holding the eye up inhaling deeply "All right, then" He says as he begins to think aloud

"Most likely, both the power source and kill switch are located within the eye itself. So, how to disconnect without triggering the kill switch?" He says to himself

"Oh, I know what to do," He says and clears his throat

"I just need to clarify one thing"

Ward checks the hallway, his gun is drawn he walks down the hall when he hears a phone ring, he initiates backscatter and sees two guards grabbing their weapons, he shoots through the wall killing both of them

 _"Ward"_ Fitz voice comes through comms

"What?" He asks, annoyed 

_"You sound winded, is this a bad time?"_ Fitz asks

"Little bit"

 _"Well, not so good for me either, considering I'm holding a still-attached prosthetic eye that could explode at any second"_ Fitz states

"Are the wires exposed or shielded?" Ward asks, hiding behind a wall, he turns to leave the wall when he catches himself looking into a mirror

"Cut it now. Cut the wires now!" Ward says frantically, before running 

"What's happening?" Amador demands

"Oh, no problem" Fitz states as he grabs the Wire Cutters

"Ward explained the sitch," Fitz says as he cuts the wires and brings it to a metal container, Simmons covers it up just as it explodes.

Ward turns the corner, checking his shoulder before running up a pair of stairs "Coming your way"

He runs as a guard finds him and starts shooting at him, he turns, noticing a window he steps onto a box and shoots the window, jumping into it, breaking the glass

He gets up and jumps down to the cement just as Skye reaches the Southside, Ward opens the side door and gets in the car

"Let's go," He says and Skye slams on the acceleration

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson runs into the square, scanning his surroundings 

"He probably left as soon as he threw the kill switch" Coulson states

May's voice comes through comms _"He's there, 20 meters from you"_

Coulson looks around and notices a man closing the door with a briefcase, the man turns around "I think I've got him," Coulson says

He walks across the street and heads up to the man "Excuse me, sir" Coulson says

"I'm sorry, but I'm very late," The man says in a British accent

Coulson reveals his badge to the man "I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D" and the man looks into his eyes "Oh, god" Is all the man gets to say before his eye implodes

The man drops to the ground, dead.

**3rd Pov, Location: The Lab**

"He was a former MI6 officer who fell off the grid a few years ago" Coulson states to Amador

"My handler was as trapped as I was," Amador says sadly

Coulson nods "Which means the real threat's still out there"

"Big S.H.I.E.L.D's still trying to decipher what was written on that wall. Nobody's ever seen anything like it" Coulson says to Amador as they walk out of the Lab onto the Cargo bay

"Couple of people think it might be alien -- possibly an equation," Coulson says as they both stop

"Must be important if it's worth $30 million. But we'll figure it out" Coulson turns to looks at the two-guard escorts waiting for Amador, he turns back to her "You'll get a fair trial, I plan on testifying. I know people"

"You deserve a second chance"

"You already gave me one" Amador counters

She continues "It doesn't matter how it plays out from here. I'm free" May walks up behind them, waiting for them to finish

"Good luck," Coulson says before walking away, heading upstairs

Amador looks over to May as they walk down the ramp "What happened to Agent Coulson? He's different" Amador says

"Well, he's loosened up a bit, he nearly died before the Battle of New York," May says with her arms behind her back

"But what did they _do_ to him?" She corrects herself

May stops walking and turns to look at Amador "I'm sorry?" She asks, confused

Amador looks at May for a second "Nevermind," She says before she walks to the escort car and gets in, leaving May confused

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson opens the door of the car that Skye's in

"Are you still needing your you time?" he asks

"There's always room for AC," She says nodding her head "Slide on in"

Coulson gets in the back seat and shuts the door

"What's wrong with... 'Agent Coulson' or just 'Coulson'?" He questions

"Nothing, I guess. AC's just way cooler, and I've been looking for a nickname for a while" She smirks at the last part

They both chuckle and Skye sighs "Not many people would have made that call to give Amador a second chance"

"I got one" Coulson states

And he adds "Seems only fair I extend the same opportunity to others" 

He leans back as they drift into a comfortable silence

"I see why you like it in here"

Skye smiles "Yeah, it's kind of like my van" She chuckles "Without all the bums trying to break in"

"I don't miss that" 

Coulson looks over to her and chuckles

"It's also peaceful," Skye says

"Peaceful's good" Coulson replies

**3rd Pov, Location: Main-quarters**

Fitz grabs a pretzel and chews it slowly

Shaw watches him with a raised eyebrow, tapping his card methodically, he looks down at his Queen and Jack of clubs "I call" He states

"And raise 100," Shaw says, grabbing his chips and setting it in the middle

Fitz hums and sets down the pretzel bowl, looking at his cards "You know how I know I'm gonna beat you?" He asks

"Do tell?" Shaw says, leaning backward, almost likes he's anticipating Fitz do something

Fitz lets his cards fall on the table "You have a tell, a psychological tic that lets me know you're bluffing" Fitz looks into Shaws eyes

"If I watch you carefully..." He says slowly and Shaw just raises an eyebrow

"If I watch you carefully..." Fitz says louder this time, gaining the attention of Skye from her bunk

"Oh, sorry. Hang on" Skye says as she is about to put on the backscatter glasses she says "You know if I do this, that not only will I see Shaw's cards, but I'll see you without any clothes on?" She tells Fitz

Fitz looks down "I fold you win," He says before quickly getting up and leaving, Shaw snorts and walks over to Skye's bunk, rapping his knuckles against the door

Skye opens the door with her mouth hanging open "How did you know"

Shaw grins "A magician never reveals his secrets"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation- Why are you here?  
> -Hello. How are you?  
> -Show me your identification  
> -How about that game last night?  
> -Your ID,  
> -I think I left it at home, had a wild night  
> -Met these two Ukrainian girls... didn't sleep much  
> -You know how it is, right?  
> -Yes?  
> -Yes?  
> -Stop!


	9. Zombie Pigmen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some language but nothing too bad, see the translations at the end  
> Also! I might not post tomorrow due to thanksgiving so sorry in advance!

_**1x05** _

**3rd Pov, Location: Hong Kong, China**

The sound of people talking throughout the shopping center, emanating the bright colors of the town, a crowd of people surrounds a man doing magic tricks

"我祖父常講, 個個都係個謎" He explains to the group

"有啲人屈住美麗嘅秘密, 另一些人則隱藏著黑暗的秘密," He says as he shows his empty hands to the crowd, he blows into his hand to reveal a white egg

"佢相信了解一個人真實本性的唯一方法, 就係刺穿佢外殼, 凝視度" He shows the egg to the crowd before grasps the egg in his fist and throwing it at the crowd to reveal long strings of silver confetti

The group that surrounds him claps while a couple say "萊姆技巧" "佢哋喺雞蛋入面"

The man's smile fades as he hears the comment and looks at his tip jar to reveal only a few dollars, it's then he notices a woman in a flower dress standing and watching, the woman smiles

The man turns away from the group to open the palm of his hand, his hand suddenly lights on fire and the woman looks in disbelief

"唔系把戲," The man says before he throws the flame at the couple, it disintegrates before it reaches them and everyone claps while the couple quickly walks away

The woman comes up to him "How did you do that?" She asks

The man laughs "That would give away the trick"

"Then I'll have to pierce your shell and gaze within?" The woman questions, tilting her head

"You understood" 

"Chan Ho Yin," Chan says holding out his hand

"Raina" She replies and takes his hand, shaking it

"I would love to see that fire trick again" She adds

Chan shakes his head "I don't think that's a good idea" 

"Of course not. It's a _great_ idea" Raina says, smiling at the end 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chan opens his door and turns on the light, setting his keys on the table "I am sorry for the clutter, I'm in-between places"

"How long have you been here?" Raina asks

"Six years. Beer?" Chan says with a smile

Raina nods her head and Chan heads into the kitchen, she sets her bag down on the table and looks around, taking note of the famous magician posters, Chan comes back with two beers

He hands one to her "You seem to have an appreciation for the great"

"I idolized him for many years" Chan states, turning to look at them

"And now?" Raina says tilting her head again

"There's no _real_ magic there, just tricks," Chan tells taking a sip of his beer

"And what you do -- those aren't tricks?" Raina questions

She smiles "Show me"

Chan chuckles "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't" turning to the table

"Says who?" Raina asks

"What are you afraid of?" 

"It's not me who's afraid" Chan states turning to look at her again

He opens his palm again and Raina gasps when it lights on fire "That can't be real" She says breathlessly

Chan looks up "See for yourself"

She moves her hand to touch the fire only to jerk away when it almost burns her

She looks up "How long have you been able to-" She's cut off by Chan "First time was a few years ago. A dishtowel caught fire in my hands"

He gestures to his apartment "I almost burned down my entire apartment"

"And it doesn't hurt?" She questions

"Not even a little" He closes his palm and the fire snuffs out

"You have a gift, I've never seen anything like it. Why not show the world?" She asks

"I ask the same question every day" Chan replies

He continues "There are people who... Never mind" He trails off when he looks at Raina's face

"It's just... for years, I did illusions, tricks, like the rest. And then this happens. It's real -- real magic. If I believed in such things, I would say it was a miracle, that this happened for a reason" Chan states

"I believe you've been chosen," Raina says softly

"You do?"

"Close your eyes..." She says and Chan does "... and I'll show you"

"That'll do" Chan furrows his eyebrows and opens his eyes, only for them to widen when two men in Fire suits stand next to Raina, they charge at him and Chan turns and tries to run only for him to be grabbed by one of the men.

He opens his palm and tries to hit the men, grabbing a pair of scissors from the table he stabs a man in the leg, but the other man in the suit punches him in the stomach causing him to double over, he looks at Raina only to be hit in the face with a baseball bat, everything goes dark 

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

"Every decision you make from here on out has consequences. So be warned... the kiddie gloves are off" Ward says as he stares a Skye who's sitting in the opposite chair as him

"G7," Skye says, Ward closes his eyes and inhales deeply "Hit" As he goes to put one of the red pieces on his battleship

"Yes! Ha!" Skye says "So, explain to me again what this has to do with my training," She asks as she grabs a pretzel 

"It's important for every S.O to evaluate their student's thought process," Ward says, Skye hums and fixes him with a gaze "And I like board games. B10" He adds

"Nope," She says as Ward puts a white piece on the spot he called "This isn't thinking, this is stabbing in the dark, but it's a nice break from the workouts" She speaks

"Well... you deserve a break," Ward says leaning back into his chair

"I got to give Coulson credit, I would have never pegged an Ex-Rising Tide hacker as a good fit, but... you're picking things up pretty fast" Ward states

Skye smiles "Did you just give me a compliment?"

"I -- No, I made a comment," Ward says, backtracking

"A kind one," Skye says "Did it physically hurt to do that?" She leans forward and pretends to be serious "Do you need an ice pack?" She asks

Ward laughs and Skye smiles "Wow. A compliment and a smile"

"Comment" Ward tries corrects her

"I don't want to ruin the moment, but I'm gonna have to respond with... G4" Skye says and Ward looks down, losing the smile 

Skye leans forward again "Say it, Ward" He sighs "Say it"

Ward looks up and in a sullen tone says "You sank my battleship"

Skye laughs "Yes!"

"Alright best 2 out of 3"

"I beat you," Skye says to him proudly

"Best I just won out of nothing," Skye says and she looks over to see Coulson and May talking and looking over to them

All of a sudden the Command Center gets a call and they all walk over

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Chan Ho Yin -- Just a struggling street performer until a few years ago, when Mr. Chan began to exhibit moderate pyrokinetic abilities" Coulson states as there in the Command Center

"So what gave him powers?" Shaw asks

"It's still under investigation, but Chan did live near the decommissioned Wan Tai Nuclear Plant when it caught fire. To our knowledge, no other nearby residents have exhibited similar traits" Coulson adds

"So how did we find out about him?" Simmons questions

"Informant saw him lighting a torch in a street show... with his pinkie," May says

"Brought it to S.H.I.E.L.D's attention, we told him to keep his abilities under wraps. He's been on the Index ever since" Coulson states

"Wait so the Index is real," Skye says, when everyone looks at her she continues

"It was talk in the Rising Tide, that S.H.I.E.L.D was stockpiling enhanced people, some of them tried to find it, but it was only those on the lower levels who tried" Skye finishes with 

"You guys had levels?" Ward asks

She scoffs "It was more of like who was a better hacker"

"So how do you monitor them?" Shaw asks, changing the subject

"The methods vary" Coulson states vaguely

"Mr. Chan was low-risk, he was assigned a case agent who checked in with him every few days. That's how we discovered he was missing" Coulson says and May presses a button and greets the agent

"你好，关探员。你好吗?" May says to the Agent

"冇我想象咁好"

"Everyone, this is Agent Kwan, Chan Ho Yin's case agent," May says to everyone in English and they all wave to him

"What can you tell us?" May questions

"Not much, I'm afraid" Agent Kwan replies

"Chan is a magician, so at first, I thought he'd made himself disappear"

"The file says you'd caught him violating his index agreement before," Coulson says

"On two separate occasions -- claimed we were 'Hampering his artistic expression' But late last night, he was taken by professionals. The only thing they left behind was this scrap of aluminized material" Agent Kawn states, holding up the piece that they found

Simmons leans forward "Fireproof clothing"

"So whoever took him knew about his power," Shaw says

"Yes, and we think we know why. Over the last few days, the tech division discovered a crack into our data stream. It's the same cyberpunks who hacked us before" Agent Kwan tells the group

"Somehow, they got in again. It's the Rising Tide" He finishes with and everyone besides Shaw turns to look at Skye, suspicion writing in all of there gazes

"Hello? It got real quiet" Agent Kwan says, Skye ends the call "It wasn't me" She states

"We're not saying that," Coulson says

"No, but your faces are, well, besides Shaw," Skye says,

"I don't judge" Shaw states, everyone ignores what he said

Skye gets up and starts typing on the holo table

"What are you doing?" Coulson says

"Finding your culprit," She says, not looking up

**3rd Pov, Location: Research Lab**

Chan slowly wakes when a voice speaks up "Good morning, Chan" Raina's voice says and he gets up from the bed as fast as he can, turning to face her

He looks around, noticing he's in a Chinese style bedroom "What the hell?" 

"I apologize for last night. It was important I bring you in under the radar" Raina says, taking a step forward

"Oh. S.H.I.E.L.D," Chan says in disgust

"Tell Agent Kwan I don't need to be read the power protocols again" 

"It was just a street performance -- It's not like I set anyone on fire," Chan says in frustration 

Raina cuts him off from saying anything else "I don't work for S.H.I.E.L.D, I come as a friend"

"English isn't my first language, but that word means something different than you think" Chan exclaims

"I understand your frustration, but I believe you have a gift. And if you let me, I'd like to help you nurture it" Raina adds "I can increase it"

"Increase my power?" Why? What's the catch?" Chan demands

"I'd like to run some tests"

"There it is" Chan states sharply, cutting her off

"Now, will you let me go, or must I fight my way out?" Chan continues

Raina looks down not saying anything, Chan walks around the bed, collecting his things and heading towards the exit 

"Leave now, and I'll forget you, I promise, but so will everyone else" Raina warns

Chan stops and turns to face Raina as she does the same

"Stay, and you can be remembered, known the world over," She says

Chan points a finger at her "You want to make Chan Ho Yin a famous name?" He questions

"No." Raina says "You need a simpler name, a -- a more powerful name, a name like... Scorch" She tells him, looking up to his eyes

"Scorch? Are you joking?" Chan says

"Have you ever heard of Steve Rogers? No. But Captain America -- Now, he's on the news, on a lunchbox, on a poster on the wall" She states

"I don't want to be a superhero" Chan exclaims at her

"You want to be recognized... for your gift. And who is more recognizable than them?" Raina says

"I was given this power for a reason. I just want people to see what I can do." Chan says

"They will. All I want is what you want -- for you to be remembered, to be seen for what you're meant to be..." Raina says, walking closer to him "... A star" She declares

"Scorch," Chan says and is quiet for a minute "It's growing on me"

Raina chuckles

**3rd Pov, Location: Command Center**

Skye is working on the tablet and the holo table with Fitz right next to her, Shaw is sitting behind them, twirling a knife absently, May and Ward standing across from them

Coulson walks into the Command Center "How close are we?" He asks

"Almost there" Skye states, not looking up

"She's identified the remote-access trojan and the infected endpoint-" Fitz starts off with

"-And is searching for a TCP to correlate the hypertext with signature information and then-" Simmon says

"-Bob is your uncle," Fitz finishes excitedly

Shaw looks up to May and Ward "Did you get any of that?"

Ward raises his eyebrows "Only the uncle part"

"We got our origin -- Austin, Texas," Skye tells them

"You got a name?" Coulson asks

"Just the café our hacker worked out of, but I'm in the system"

"I'm gonna check to see if any credit-card charges from that day match up with any known hackers" She adds

She stops "We got a hit"

"Miles Lydon, not Skye -- that's to all of our relief," Fitz says and Skye puts her face in her hands sighing exasperatedly

"You know him?" May asks

Skye says something but it's muffled because of her hands

"What?" Shaw says, leaning forward

Skye sighs, lifting her face up from her hands "He's my ex" She mutters 

"Your ex is the man who infiltrated the Kremlin," Simmons asks incredulously

"Yeah, and the picture of, uh, Putin shirtless on horseback -- that was his hack"

Coulson looks at Skye with a raised eyebrow "This is the crazy ex that you talked about sometimes"

Skye just nods in embarrassment

"It was also his hack that got Chan kidnapped," Ward says seriously

Coulson looks at Skye who is just looking at the ground "Thank you for telling us Skye" He says sincerely before turning to May "Set a course for Austin" 

"Already did," She says

"So what's the plan," Shaw asks "We gonna rough him up?" He asks giddily

"No," Skye says and looks up to Coulson "I got a better one, but you might not like it"

Coulson raises an eyebrow "Try me"

**3rd Pov, Location: Austin Texas**

Skye's voice comes through comms _"Just left the Café where Miles logged in, the cashier says she hasn't seen him in over a week"_

"I have eyes on him," Ward says as he turns to the right to see Miles eating a donut

Miles has his phone out and turns to the left slightly and sees Ward looking at him, he backs up slowly before turning around and running

"I've been made, heading East on 5th Street," Ward says

He gets caught in the crowd but sees Miles get into a car "Target is now in a Silver Jetta" He tells everyone on comms

"I got him," Coulson says as he drives a S.H.I.E.L.D issued SUV chasing Miles car

The car turns right sharply, Miles checks his shoulder still seeing the SUV tailing him "All right, suit. You asked for it" Miles says before turning on his phone and scrolling through his protocols

"Gridlock protocol" He states before all of the lights behind him turn green, causing every car, truck, and van to continue going forward

Coulson slams on the breaks to avoid crashing into a group of trucks

He goes to comms _"May, you know what to do_ _"_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miles locks his doors and looks through the peephole

"You idiot" Skye states and Miles jumps "Long time no see," he says, flashing a smile

"You absolute fucking idiot" Skye yells 

"You could have blown everything!" She states

"Yeah but it got your attention," Miles says

"Miles this is serious!" She yells at him

"I know, I know, but thanks for the text," Miles says, "I thought you were still mad at me"

Skye laughs bitterly "Oh, I still am, but I can't let you jeopardize what I've come too far for"

Miles looks down "Your mad at me"

She scoffs, arms crossed "Are you serious?! Of course, I am!"

"Who'd you leak those files too Miles," Skye says, changing the subject

"Wait a second. What?" Miles says, completely turned around from the complete 180 of the previous conversation

"I released them into the world, where they belong," He tells her

"No, you don't get to say that" Skye exclaims

"You don't get it, you hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D while I was in there Miles, you put him a very fucking precarious situation!"

Before she can yell at him more the door suddenly falls and reveals May as she stands there, her face emotionless

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miles sits in a separate room from everyone "What'd you do with Skye?" He demands

"The classified information you stole from us -- Who did you give it to?" May asks, ignoring the question

"She doesn't have anything to do with this she just warned me" Miles states

"What. Did. You. Do with the information" May says through clenched teeth

"It's information, it has a life of its own," Miles says 

"What happened to Mr. Chan?" May asks

"I don't know who that is, so why don't you tell me?"

Suddenly the sound of glass breaking is heard from the other room "So, are you guys just gonna destroy all my stuff?" He questions

"Yes." May says

Coulson opens the door "Anything?" He asks May, she shakes her head

"I don't have to talk to you-" Miles starts off "Take him in, I'll tell Shaw to prep the interrogation room," Coulson says as he walks out

May grabs Miles and walks out, he sees a flash of long brown hair before a black bag is put over his head

**3rd Pov, Location: Research Lab**

"What is this big place, Raina," Chan asks as he moves throughout the gigantic lab in his new training clothes

"And who are these guys?"

"They'll assist you with anything you need" Raina explains

"We're here to monitor your vitals while we observe your powers and it's big because we'll need the space" She adds, stepping up to him

Chan smiles and Raina turns to a man filling a syringe with something "This serum strengthens the cytoskeleton within each cell of your body"

"One dose, and you'll feel incredible... until it wears off" She advises him

"And it will wear off?" He asks

"Yes" She nods "But the effects in average subjects have been impressive"

She turns to him "In you, I'm excited to see"

He holds out his arm as the scientist aims the syringe at an exposed vein "What do you think of the name 'Scorch'?" He asks and hisses when the scientist injects him with the serum

"Breath" Raina advises and Chan closes his eyes in euphoria

"Feel it?" Raina asks and Chan smiles and nods

"Now let's see what you can do"

Chan opens his hand and fire envelops his palm, rising higher than before "Woah" He says 

He looks to Raina who just smiles, Chan passes it from hand to hand before throwing it at the wall making a scientist duck

"Oh, sorry! You almost got scorched" He says chuckling 

"This is incredible" He yells

Turning to Raina "You are a beautiful angel -- You know that?" 

"Your power is an amazing gift," Raina says

"And S.H.I.E.L.D wouldn't let me use it but thanks to you, the whole world can finally see what I can do. From now on nobody holds me back" He states passionately before creating another fireball and throwing it

**3rd Pov, Location: Interrogation Room**

Miles looks around as he adjusts to the light in the room, finding Skye in front of him and a man in the corner

"Who are you?" Miles demands, not getting a response he turns to look at Skye

"So, I guess due process isn't really S.H.I.E.L.D protocol," Miles says and the man chuckles, Skye glares at the man before turning back to Miles

"They don't have time for it" Skye states

"Whoa, are you defending them?" Miles asks incredulously

"I don't know, why would she defend her ex who just got her arrested by her own team," Shaw says

Miles glares at the man "Yeah well what are you gonna do about it?"

Shaw stands up, his face cold and calculating, grabbing a knife from his belt before waving it around in Mile's face "Why don't you continue to talk back and you can find out"

Miles gulps and the Shaw smiles, almost predatorily, before going back into the corner

Skye sighs "This isn't about you or me, this is about a mans life who is in danger"

Miles scoffs "Listen to yourself that's what they always say to justify invading privacy, Skye"

"These people stand for everything we despise-" He's cut off by Skye "We?" She scoffs "They're is not 'we' Miles"

The two continue to argue as Shaw sits in the corner, smirking

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward, Fitz, and Simmons are going through Miles stuff while Skye follows through with the plan

Ward scoffs "I got to give Skye credit, this plan is working flawlessly"

"Yes it is," Simmons says

"The guy is hiding behind platitudes, I feel sorry for Skye having to play along with it" Fitz states

"I'm more worried about Miles saying the wrong thing to Shaw," Ward says, turning to look at Fitz-Simmons, he mutes the screen

"He feels dirty though," Ward says, crossing his arm

"Scrubbed clean, actually -- nothing much on him, but Skye says he has the deeper secrets hidden well," Simmons says before continuing

"He's got no family records, his apartment's under an alias, and he plays a lot of Minecraft, where he runs a rather nasty mob" She finishes 

Fitz turns to Simmons "Is it -- Is it, Zombie?" He asks

Simmons stops looking through Miles stuff and looks at Fitz "Zombie Pigmen"

He gasps and scrunches up his face in disgust

"Keep looking," Ward says, cutting them off from continuing the conversation

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson is sitting in his office watching the interrogation as May walks in 

"The plans working," May says

"Yeah it is," Coulson says, deep in thought

"Somethings bothering you though" May questions, noticing Coulson's face

"For some reason, it feels like Skye is keeping something from us," He says

May tilts her head "Gut-feeling?" and Coulson nods "Trust your gut" She states

Coulson looks at the camera feed "Shaw is gonna kill Miles if Miles keeps talking all this manifesto crap"

"Why would you say that?" May asks

Coulson chuckles "Shaw may act like he's is fine but this is bothering him, he doesn't like the plan"

May looks at Coulson

"He's got a soft spot for Skye, which is surprising because he doesn't trust easily, and believe it or not he's usually more conserved"

"Shaw is more conserved?" May states in confusion

He looks at her "He has to be, with what he does"

"And what does he do?" May asks

"That's for him to tell you," Coulson says as he looks back at the screen with a look still on his face 

"If it's bothering you that much, ask her," May says, as she says that Simmons walks in "Sir, we found some evidence"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shaw suddenly gets up and exits the room, before returning minutes later, Skye sends a confused look as Shaw walks up to the table and Miles shrinks a bit

"Skye here says your not a bad guy, just one who is a dick. So I'm going to give you a chance" Shaw says before setting a piece of paper onto the table

"Do you want to tell her, or should I?"

"I don't have to listen to you-" Miles starts before he's cut off by Shaw "There goes your chance" He unfolds the paper and shows it to Skye

"You 'crazy ex' as you called him made a few deposits in the days following the leak. All said... it's about a million dollars" Shaw says

Skye clenches her jaw "I knew you could go low Miles, but this is just a whole new level"

"I can explain-" Miles starts off

"Did you seriously sell information Miles?"

"Yes, but it was for you!" Miles shouts out and Skye looks at him in incredulity

"So you and I could get back together!"

Skye looks at him with an open mouth "You are crazy, why would you think that?!"

"It was a million dollars. It could have changed my life, I thought you would come back to me if I had that money!" He says and Skye scoffs

"And that woman was harmless" He adds

"No one with good intentions pays that kind of money for information. Did you ever think about that?" She exclaims

"Of course I did. I would never have done it if I thought-" Miles starts

"Who is the woman you referred to?" Shaw asks, cutting them off from arguing some more

"A fan of the Rising Tide, some rich girl in a flower dress. She knew all about me, said I had a gift. She thought people like us deserved more"

"Oh, you deserve more" Skye states angrily

"She pointed me to a Chinese S.H.I.E.L.D feed -- wanted me to crack it," Miles says looking down, missing Skye and Shaw share a look

"You thought that was harmless?" Shaw asks incredulously

"I checked the data stream it didn't seem like anything I hadn't put out there. I traced the account where the money came from to make sure it wasn't some evil corporation. It was just an eco-research lab. Otherwise, I would never-"

Shaw leans forward "Ecological research?"

"Yeah, insects, some study with centipedes" Miles replies

Shaw and Skye look at each other

"What's more harmless than that?" Miles questions

Shaw and Skye stand up and leave the interrogation room, completely forgetting the plan where they caught Skye with Miles and don't trust her

As they leave Miles looks at the chair that Skye was just in with an open mouth 

As the door closes behind both of them they hear the muffled yell of Miles say "What the fuck!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -My Grandfather often said that every man is a mystery  
> -Some men harbor beautiful secrets, others hide darker ones  
> -He believed the only way to know a man's true nature, is to pierce his outer shell and gaze within  
> -Lame trick  
> -They were in the egg  
> -This is not a trick
> 
> -Hello Agent Kwan. How are you?  
> -Not as good as I could be
> 
> Feedback? This is chapter is a complete divergence from the episode. Also, Shaw does have a dark past and it will be explained in the future so I will set warnings before the chapter so I can warn you. Skye's backstory is the same


	10. Boom goes the Fireman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry, it took me longer to post it! You can probably tell when I get back and start writing it again! The posting might be more sporadic after this weekend but I'll promise I'll post as much as I can!  
> Also, thank you so much for over 100 hits!

**3rd Pov, Location: Research lab**

Chan runs on the treadmill with a scientist recording his stats as Raina watches from behind glass

"It appears the volatility in the serum has been neutralized" Raina states

"I'm surprised you got him to cooperate," A woman says

"He has dreams. I told him they'd come true," Raina says

The doctor sighs and looks at Raina "You gave him a name, didn't you?" She says exasperatedly 

"Everyone wants to be remembered" Raina counters

"Well thank god no one's gonna have to actually call him that," The doctor says before grabbing the information they have on Chan

"You were right," Raina says "The platelets in his blood prevent the extremis in the serum from combusting" 

The doctor smiles "That's fantastic. The others will be pleased"

"Good work Raina," She says before turning back to look through the glass

"Now drain him" She states before walking away

Raina looks at Chan and then presses a button on the control panel, it shoots out a gas directly in Chan's face, knocking him out

**3rd Pov, Location: The Command Center**

Shaw and Skye quickly walk into the room as everyone is already there "It appears Centipede is responsible for Mr. Chan's kidnapping" Coulson states

"First LA, now Hong Kong. What kind of organization are we dealing with?" Ward asks

"International, well-financed, interested in creating a super-soldier. Let's hope finding Mr. Chan will provide some answers. Using the account information Mr. Lydon gave us," Coulson says as he swipes on the holo table revealing building schematics "S.H.I.E.L.D HQ believes he's being held here"

"Any ideas what Centipede wants with Chan?"

Fitz jumps in "Hard to say, but Simmons thinks that considering he's pyrokinetic-"

"-There's a good chance his Genetics could stabilize the extremis element of the Centipede Serum-"

"-Keep their test subjects from going-"

"-Boom!" Simmons finishes

Coulson looks to Fitz-Simmons "If Mr. Chan is Centipede's lab rat, we need to get there before the experiment's over"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is no test," Chan says, sweat dripping down his face "This is torture"

The chair moves up as he faces Raina and The Doctor "Thank you for your participation" The Doctor says

"Our group really owes you one," She says sincerely

Chan grunts as The Doctor walks over and grabs a vile of his blood "I won't let you" He says and lights his palm on fire only for it to burn him, he screams as it burns his flesh

Both women look at his hand "What have you done?" He demands

"We don't understand what gave you this ability, but the reason you don't burn is that your blood platelets are fire-resistant" The doctor states and walks away

"Which is why we're removing them" Raina adds

Chan looks at Raina in shock as The Doctor puts Chan's blood vile into a cooler and a scientist walks off with them.

They both turn to walk away and Chan tries to talk to Raina "Raina, you said I have a gift" She stops and turns to look at him "And now you're giving it" She states

Chan yells at Raina as she walks off

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shaw and Ward are getting their gear ready when Coulson walks up to Shaw

"Shaw stay here with Miles" Coulson requests

Ward looks at Coulson with a raised eyebrow but continues packing

Shaw clenches his grip on his knife but nods none the less, walking away muttering something that Coulson and Ward can't decipher

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ward asks

Coulson turns to look at Ward "Since when have you cared about what Shaw does?"

Ward just looks down and nods, they both head to SUV with May already in the car

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye walks into the interrogation room to find Miles with his head on the table, he perks up when he sees Skye

She sits down across from him and they both drift into an uncomfortable silence

"I'm sorry," Miles says and Skye raises an eyebrow

"I honestly didn't know"

Skye sighs "You know you're not a _bad_ guy Miles, you just hide behind platitudes" 

"I'm sorry, truly, but it was a million dollars," Miles says and Skye scoffs

"C'mon Skye you lived in your van for the last two years"

Skye looks at him "You're making fun of my van? Of all things?"

"I could've funded us for years with that money -- us," Miles says

"Oh so now your back with us getting back together, your ridiculous"

"You also wouldn't have joined this corrupt institution to find what you're looking for"

"But hacking the organization for money?!" She shouts at him

"What's wrong with that?" Miles asks

Skye stands up her hands slamming the table "I'll tell you what's wrong with that, an innocent guy might die... for money" She yells at him

"You know I would never intentionally hurt anyone, I'm just trying to get my life together"

"At least you know what you're looking for. If you're still looking" Miles says softly "Me -- I don't have that. For a long time, I thought it was you"

Skye scoffs 

"I think I've figured out that I lost you a long time ago" He states sadly

She sits back down "Now you've figured it out" She states bitterly

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson walks up to Ward, May, and Agent Kwan "Building has five floors. The first four are research. The fifth is listed as maintenance but uses half the building's energy" Coulson tells them

Agent Kwan speaks up "Either they're guarding the world's largest vacuum-" 

"Or that's where Chan's being held," Coulson says, finishing Kwan's sentence

"Send your B and C teams in through the tunnels, Ward will join them, to secure the lower floors. Warn them that the Centipede serum's highly explosive" He states

"Understood," Kwan says, Ward turns to leave and join teams B and C, while May sets up a grappling rope at the roof

"Where do we go in?" Kwan questions

"The roof," Coulson says as May grapples up to the top of the building.

May, Coulson, and Agent Kwan walk through the building, a S.H.I.E.L.D operative with them as they follow the path to the lab. The device that May was holding starts to turn red "There" May says, pointing towards the door "Heat signature confirmed"

Coulson walks up to the door and May hands him an electronics explosive "I love these things" He tells the group and places it on the lock, pressing the button as it flashes red before exploding the inside circuitry of the door

May kicks down the door and a guard swings his gun around to face the group but May grabs his arm, slamming him to the ground before running to another guard and ducking under a punch, popping back up, kicking him in the stomach causing him to fall on his knees before she kicks him in the face, rendering him unconscious

Coulson and Agent Kwan walk up to Chan to find him hooked up, Chan sighs in relief "Agent Kwan... it's you"

"We're here to get you out," Kwan tells Chan before both he and Coulson start to unhook Chan, Chan looks over to find the multiple bottles of the serum still there. A Idea forms in Chan's head.

A scientist hits the alarm button causing the building to go into lockdown and grabs a bottle of propane, aiming it for Coulson but before he can Coulson punches him in the face

"Strike team needs a security override, stat," Coulson says through comms

He turns to Kwan "Kwan, can you arrange-" He stops suddenly, seeing Agent Kwan with a gaping hole in his chest, he falls to the ground dead as Chan stands there, injecting himself with the serum "Chan, what have you done?" Coulson asks

"I've set myself free" Chan says before sending a stream of fire at Coulson, causing him to find cover.

Shaw runs into the interrogation room where Skye is on her phone and Miles is sitting with his eyes down "Coulson and May are in trouble" Is all he says before running back out, Skye quickly following him, Miles stands up and cautiously follows them.

Chan screams as the burns on his hands extend to his upper arms, May and Coulson are hiding behind a steel storage locker

"Mr. Chan I know you're in pain" Coulson starts off

"This is nothing," Chan says, motioning to the burns on his arms "You were the ones killing me, forcing me to keep this gift locked up inside"

May takes a deep breath "陳, 對唔住你過住你唔想要嘅生活... 但暴力唔會解決唔到咩"

Chan looks to where May is "能阻止我被你囚禁, 畀佢哋囚禁, 沒有區別 我得到呢個禮物係有原因嘅。 燃燒明亮" He gestures to the unconscious Centipede soldier

May tries to reason with him one more time "冇回頭路"

Chan shakes his head "我唔想返去"

May sighs and Coulson looks at May "So we're good, right?" He asks.

Simmons and Fitz are watching on with worry as Shaw has one of his knives out, twirling it.

"The entire facility's been locked down" Simmons states nervously

Miles walks closer to the holo table, looking at it with awe, he leans forward to Skye "This is pretty cool"

"Shut up," Skye says tersely

"The alarms disconnected the system from all exterior servers" Skye states to the group

"Can you fix it?" Shaw asks, turning to face the screen

"Yes, but you've got to get me on-site," Skye says

"No way." Miles tells her "You're a hacker, Skye, not Seal Team Six"

"No. But _he_ is" Skye says turning to Shaw "Or something like that" She adds, Shaw smirks over to Miles.

Chan throws another fireball in Coulson's direction, causing him to move to where May is covered, barely avoiding the fireball

May looks at Coulson "His file says anything about being homicidal?" She asks "Just said he was kind of a tool" Coulson replied, Coulson still tries to talk Chan down "Mr. Chan, believe it or not, this can still get worse"

"You bend someone long enough, and they break" Chan states "Poor little Chan Ho Yin may have believed your lies, but not Scorch" 

May looks at Coulson in utter confusion "Who?" and Coulson just sighs "Oh, crap. They gave him a name" He pulls out the night-night gun "Get me a clean look. I'll make sure he wakes up in a S.H.I.E.L.D containment facility" He states 

May looks at Coulson her jaw set in a firm line "Waking is optional at this point" Before they both go into opposite directions as Chan turns to face May only to have Coulson start shooting the night-night gun from behind him, Chan turns and creates a blanket of fire that envelopes his back, protecting him from the bullets being shot at him

Coulson runs out and heads back to cover as Chan turns to face his directions "Nothing can stop me!" He yells.

May goes to comms _"Where are we on the doors?"_ As Shaw slams, a person into the wall "Almost there" Pushing Skye out of the way as a guard aims a punch at her and he grabs his knife from his belt and slashing the guard in the face. Another guard starts to runs up from behind him only for Shaw turn around and throw a knife directly inbetween his eyes. He walks over to the guard and grabs the knife from his face "Let's go."

The Doctor turns down the hall towards the elevator Raina trailing behind her with Chan's blood "S.H.I.E.L.D has infiltrated the building" The Doctor says to the person on the other side of the phone "No, it's under control" She says sharply before hanging up

"Didn't want to tell them?" Raina asks The Doctor, stepping in front of her "Chan's true nature has revealed itself"

"Without his platelets, the serum with combust" The Doctor states

"Wouldn't be the first one to blow up on you," Raina says calmly and The Doctor at Raina who turns back towards the elevator and starts walking again "I'm beginning to think you're bad luck."

Skye quickly sits down at the nearest computer, Shaw trailing behind with, twirling his knife "It's almost too easy" He says to Skye "I mean they could at _least_ put up a real challenge"

"You didn't have to kill the guards though," Skye says, completely focused on the computer screen in front of her, Shaw chuckles "Careful Skye, sounds like your starting to care for the bad guys"

Skye sets her jaw "No, I just believe not everyone deserves to die if they're on the wrong side" Shaw opens his mouth but Skye speaks up before he has the chance "Done. Let's go" She says.

 _"Doors are unlocked,"_ Shaw says through comms

"Where's Chan?" Coulson says, running up to May "He's gone" She states "Damn it" Coulson says, tucking away the night-night gun "That tranquilizer was his last chance you know that" May says

"I know. It's time to minimize the damage" Coulson says, walking over to the serum that Chan injected himself with

"Simmons... are the building's computers back online?" Coulson asks

"Yes" Simmons exclaims with a breath of relief 

"Uncuff Miles. We're gonna need his help" Coulson says and Fitz-Simmons faces fall as Miles with a grin raises his hands.

Raina steps into the elevator as The Doctor is a few feet from the entrance when Chan steps around the corridor "You!" He shouts to the woman

The doctor starts to sprint to the elevator but Raina presses the close button and smirks at her "I wish you the best" Raina says as the elevator closes, seeing The Doctors terrified face before the elevator door closes

The Doctor turns to face Chan, her back up against the elevator as she tries to reason with him "Please, look, we can fix you... make you stronger, take the name Scorch and make it means something" As Chan steps closer to her, he gets on one knee with a crazy look in his eyes "It already does" He states before slamming his fist to the ground screaming when the fire burns his skin, but the fire reaches The Doctor, her screams echo through the corridor as she burns to a crisps, leaving nothing behind 

Chan stands up and stares at his hands as Coulson walks to the end of the hall and faces Chan "Mr. Chan, we don't want to hurt you..." Coulson starts off and Chan turns to look at Coulson "... but we have to" He says as May steps up behind Chan and injects him with multiple doses of the serum and he falls to his knees.

"We got to move," Coulson says to May who just nods before they start to head to the exit as Chan begins to glow red as the serum overloads him. Miles is on the holo table, closing ventilation systems and doors to contain the blast, Simmons talking to Miles even though it isn't necessary "You need to drive the blast into the Main Ventilation Shaft-"

"-Yeah, and on up to the roof," Fitz says, Miles finishes just in time as Ward with Teams B and C, Shaw, Skye, May, and Coulson exit the building as Chan explodes, the explosion moves upwards

They all face the explosion and Shaw says to Coulson as he watches the explosion "Skye managed to extract some files from the mainframe. It's not much but could get us a fix on centipede"

Shaw looks over to Coulson who hums, seeing the look and his face, he comments "You can't save someone from themself"

"I know, but I can sure as hell try" He states, they all watch as the explosion dies down.

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

Coulson walks up to Miles whos on the cargo ramp, carrying a black box he holds it up to Miles "You've got two choices -- Take what's in this box, or we put you in a slightly bigger one"

Miles smiles weakly and attempts to make a joke that falls flat "You want to give me a hint?" Miles looks up and sees Coulson's blank face, he cautiously takes the box and opens it to reveal a silver bracelet "What's it do?" Miles asks

Coulson grabs it from the box and puts it on Miles's wrist "Whatever we tell it to do. I'd try to avoid any unlawful activity, and I think you'll find it hard to use electronic devices for a while" Coulson states, closing the box "You can go now"

"Cool, but we're still in Hong Kong," Miles says "Yep" Coulson replies, Miles looks at Coulson in disbelief "I live in Austin, Texas"

"I know, oh, and Agent Kwan's family thanks you for the anonymous donation." Coulson walks away and sees Skye "In my office" He states before walking up the steps

Skye walks up to Miles and he tries to smile "I hope you find what you're looking for" He says weakly, Skye nods her head "I hope you can finally realize that we're over." Miles nods and walks off, she takes a breath and walks up the stairs, finding May, Shaw, and Ward at the bar. May and Ward don't turn to look at her but Shaw raises his glass to signify good luck and she smiles at him

Skye sits down and notices Coulson's expression "Did I do something wrong?" She asks "No, but your hiding something," Coulson says, cutting straight to the chase. Skye opens her mouth to protest but he stops her "Skye we've known each other for a while, and while you might not trust me 100% still, I know you, so I know your hiding something" Coulson says and Skye looks down, sucking on her lower lip she pulls a data chip out of her bra and puts it on his table

He raises an eyebrow "What's this?" 

"It's everything I have" Skye replies

"On us?" Coulson says and Skye looks up at him with a glare "It's everything I have on me" and for the first time in a long time, Coulson looks at Skye and finally unravels this girls mystery, why she was always hacking S.H.I.E.L.D, why she grew up in an orphanage and is as tuff as nails, why she never trusts anyone. He grabs the data chip with care and inserts it into his computer and files start popping up, her Foster homes, her orphanage, the name they gave her, but nothing that she actually has on herself

"That's why I learned to crack systems, why I joined the Rising Tide -- To find any details I could about my parents" her voice cracks and tears start to fill her eyes "There's nothing. No records. There's no trace of them. My lifelong search has led to a single document -- Redacted" She says the last part bitterly

He opens his mouth and yet even though he isn't thirsty it feels dry "By S.H.I.E.L.D" 

"I'll never stop looking Coulson, if you say you know me, then you know that" 

"You might not like what you find," Coulson says because the only reason he can think of a document on her is so heavily guarded and redacted means one thing. Danger.

"It can't be worse than what I've imagined" Skye counters and Coulson walks up to her 

"I'll help, but you have to promise to stop digging," Coulson says sincerely and Skye nods, wiping her eyes, He nods his head towards the door "Feel free to leave when you're ready," He says and starts to walk out but stops at the door. "If you feel like you need to talk to someone but not me. That someone should be Shaw, he'd understand" Coulson tells her before he walks out, leaving Skye to collect herself as she thinks about what he just said.

**3rd Pov, Location: Unknown**

Raina sits behind the window as a man sits down, they both grab a phone on opposite sides as the man speaks up "Well, you know I'm not going to do the talking" He states

"The Doctor is dead," Raina says and the man looks up to meet her eyes "About time" He replies "Well, she did find a solution to our... combustion problem. We believe we'll soon have stable subjects. On to Stage two," Raina says gleefully

"That mean my situation's going to improve any?" The man questions as he looks down to his prisoner jumpsuit, he sees Raina hesitate a bit before she starts talking again

"Well, other problems have surfaced -- resurfaced, I should say. The S.H.I.E.L.D unit in Hong Kong -- We've encountered them before. They... took our subject off map in Los Angeles" Raina says regretfully

"Not much I can do about that in here, so that's not why I'm getting the visit." The man states and Raina knows he's caught on "We would like to touch base with the Clairvoyant. See if any insights can be given... on Stage Three"

The man's lips twitch ever so slightly "The clairvoyant doesn't like to be touched" He says with a clipped voice and Raina speaks up "We all have to do things that make us uncomfortable if we are ever to get our toy soldiers off the shelf" Raina smirks "You know that better than any of us" She states and stands up

"I like your dress," He tells her as she gets up to leave, Raina leans into the phone "I know" She whispers before putting it away and walking out, leaving the man in his chair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Chan, I'm sorry you've lived a life you didn't want... but violence will solve nothing  
> -It will keep me from being kept prisoner by you, by them, there's no difference. I was given this gift for a reason. To burn bright  
> -There's no turning back  
> -I don't want to go back


	11. Well Well Well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry, it took me so long, I've been busy!  
> Updates every 2-3 days from now (I hope)

_ **1x08** _

_"In ancient times, people believed the heavens were filled with gods and monsters and magical worlds._

_Then time passed, those beliefs faded into myth and folklore._

_But now we know the stories were true._

_Other worlds, with names like Asgard, do exist._

_And beings once revered as gods, like Thor, have returned, leaving us with more questions and..."_

**3rd Pov, Location: Greenwich University London, England**

"... an enormous mess to clean up" Simmons states annoyingly as The Bus team shifts through the wreckage and remains of the recent events regarding Thor. She watches as Ward drops another pile of rubble to her feet and he sarcastically remarks "Don't say I never gave you anything"

Fitz crouches down to look at the pile Ward just dumped next to them, picking up a piece "Checking for Alien Spectrographic signatures one teeny rock at a time," Ward looks to Fitz "Necessary precaution. We don't want anything Alien getting in the wrong hands" 

"Still, this is definitely the type of work a monkey could easily do," Fitz says looking off and imagining a monkey that he has been begging Coulson to get more and more. Ward looks at Fitz with what could be described as a soft gaze "You're our little monkey" causing him to blush and look away

Simmons phone chimes in her pocket and she grabs it to look at the caller ID, noticing it's her mom and dad she declines and looks up to see Fitz staring disapprovingly at her "Don't give me that look I'll talk to them when I talk to them" Simmons says

"Talk to who?" Ward asks as he wheels the bin away to grab more rubble "Mum and dad, they want explanations and answers for... Well, all this" Simmons says, pausing at the end of her sentence, she sighs, "But I don't have any answers and, more importantly, I haven't talked to them since I was ill" She says, referring to the time when she caught the Alien Virus and jumped out of the plane

She continues "And if they knew that, they'd be even more terrified. So, you know..." She trails off as her phone starts to ring again and she declines, again "... Why waste any of our time, really?" Before putting her phone in her pocket

Skye, Coulson, May, and Shaw walk to where Fitz-Simmons and Ward are, carrying plastic bins "You guys may think it's old news, but it's new... news to everybody else" Skye tells the group "So, Asgardians are Aliens from another planet that visited us thousands of years ago?" She questions

"Or more." Coulson says distractedly as he grabs a piece of metal and puts it in the bin Skye's holding "And because we couldn't understand Aliens, we thought they were Gods?" Skye asks again

"That's where our Norse Mythology comes from," Coulson replies as he and Shaw crouch near a pile of rocks and begin sifting through them "That's too crazy," Skye says, mostly to herself before directing another question to Coulson "Do you think other Deities are Aliens, too? Vishnu for sure, right?" Coulson and Shaw grab another piece from the site and continue to look for more

Ignoring her question Coulson states bitterly "You know, it'd be nice if, for once, Thor and his people sent down the God of Cleaning Up after yourself" Shaw pops his head up "They probably have a magic broom for this kind of thing" Shaw responds with a grin, Skye looks at Shaw briefly before looking back at Coulson "I just wish they'd left their Alien ship behind"

May stands up "So we can clean that up, too?"

"So we could go inside, take a peek under the hood, maybe take it for a spin," Skye says and looks over to May, May smirks briefly before looking away "Come on, you're telling me piloting an Alien ship isn't on your bucket list?" Skye asks May 

Coulson speaks up to cut May off from replying "I can't think of a single time when anything Alien in human hands ended well" He drops of another piece of scraps and Skye says "Wouldn't mind getting my human hands on Thor. He's so dreamy." May and Shaw walk up behind her to get to the next rubble pile and Coulson looks to Skye 

"Sure, he's handsome, but-" Coulson "No. He's dreamy." May states, cutting Coulson off and Shaw hums, all three of them turn to him with raised eyebrows and he holds his hands up "What? I may like girls but I can always appreciate men too!" He turns to the pile of rubble "Let's say, theoretically, I steal some of the Alien metal and turn it into a knife, would you get mad at me?" Shaw asks, changing the subject and getting Coulson's attention "Absolutely" He replies

Fitz grabs a piece of metal and scans it, the device begins to beep and both Ward and Simmons look at him "Fitz, is that, um-"

"-definitely not from here" Fitz finishes her sentence as he stands up to look at the piece of metal, Ward grabs it from his hands "Another piece of the ship. What are you doing?" He asks Ward as he holds it up "Out of sight..." He says turning to Fitz-Simmons before putting it in a container and closing it "...Out of mind"

Fitz-Simmons go back to there stations, sharing a look "That's why we're here, keep everything under control" Ward states and walks away with the briefcase

**3rd Pov, Location: Trillemarka National Park, Norway**

The forest guards pull off the side of the road as they see a sign graffitied on "Now, who would do something like that?" The man asks his partner.

A couple walks through the forest holding hands as they search for something before the woman stops "Baby, look"

He stops too as he looks at the tree with rocks surrounding it, stepping forward he pulls out a packet of notes and begins to read a verse "South of the water, north of the hill... a halo of stones-" He starts "-protect the tree still" The woman finishes, they look at each other with smiles before turning back to the tree

"Jakob, is this it?" The woman asks and the man nods.

The sound of a chainsaw starting up fills the quiet forest as Jakob aims the chainsaw at the base of the tree before cutting into it, wood flies everywhere as he cuts through the tree, gaining the attention of the two forest guards as they clean the graffiti on the sign and one of them says to the other "We should check that out."

Jakob scales the now fallen tree before he finds the spot in the middle of the tree and aims the chainsaw again, this time vertically, cutting into it before he kicks a chunk of it, revealing a piece of steel with carving in it, he grabs it with his gloves before walking back down the tree and over to his girlfriend, showing it to her

"Finally, after all this time." He says before the woman grabs his face and kisses him aggressively, they break apart "I can't wait to tell the others" She states "I told you it was real... and that I would find it" He holds the staff out to her "Are you ready?"

She takes a deep breath before grabbing the staff with both hands, she gasps and closes her eyes as the staff's symbols turn red and begin to show on her skin, she gasps in pain and drops to her knees as Jakob says to her "What you're feeling, don't fight it. That rage, it's already inside of you. Don't be afraid of it. Don't hide from its power" As she opens her eyes, taking a deep breath "Embrace it. Embrace it!" He states

The woman screams as she grabs the staff, taking deep breaths she is suddenly full of all this rage and power, she smiles.

The forest guards walk over to the screams "God! What have you done?" One of the men exclaims as he looks at the fallen tree, and the woman looks over to them as the men walk up, she pushes one of them in the chest and he goes flying, sending the man into a tree. She smiles before turning to the other man as he runs away from them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shaw stands next to Simmons "I can climb it if you want" He says "Just talk me through what to do with the... doodads" He adds and Simmons smiles as she looks down to her device "Yeah, it's only about 15 feet." Simmons looks up "I'll be fine. I'm -- I'm just a bit more wary about the height thing since falling to certain death"

"You're afraid" Shaw states "Just go be you, you jumped out of a plane, granted it wasn't exactly on your terms, but well..." He trails off before turning back to her "Just don't be afraid" Simmons nods and steps onto the tree 

"Focus on what you want to do best," He says and Simmons hums "Yup. Not falling" Ward walks up to them and Shaw just looks at him pointedly "No, you're a scientist," Shaw says and Simmons looks down in surprise "You like to figure things out, so figure it out" Simmons looks back up and nods

Shaw nods to Ward before walking off. Ward points his finger to the hole in the tree "I'm curious. Whatever was up in these trees had to be there for centuries, right?" He asks as he looks up to Simmons "At least a millennium" She states dryly "Radiocarbon-14 dates some of these trees at 9,000 years old" 

Ward gets a thoughtful look on his face "That sounds impossible. Think the tree grew around it?" He asks Simmons and she looks back down, continuing to walk "I'd have to check the Dendrochronology first to know for certain but, I mean, The Norway Spruce is a rather fast-growing coniferous, and I know you're trying to trick me into going up, but I'm going up anyway, so..." Simmons rambles and shrugs

"I'll catch you if you fall" Ward states seriously.

Coulson looks at the Forest guard as he explains to him what he saw "Screaming and so much hate in her eyes." Coulson nods at the man sympathetically before asking "And you said she had a silver stick?"

"Steel, maybe. I-I don't know" The man says as he wrings his wrist nervously "It, uh, had decorations on it" "Could you describe or draw them?" Coulson asks calmly to the man "I didn't get a good look. I-I just ran" The man says looking down as he's on the verge of tears "Who would do something so evil?" He asks brokenly

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Simmons puts the scanner up to the hole in the tree, the scanner confirms it's Alien "Oh, um, whatever was in here was definitely not from this world" Simmons says, looking over to Ward, she goes over to comms

"Fitz, you getting this? It's not Chitauri, is it?" She asks and Fitz replies reassuringly _"No, no, no. Don't worry. This isn't another viral threat. Um, hang on"_ He continues after pressing a few buttons on the tablet _"Spectrographic signatures match readings from... Thor's hammer. Simmons, whatever was in the tree is Asgardian"_

Simmons looks into the hole to see intricate carving "I-I can see an imprint of what was embedded," she grabs another scanner and holds it to the imprint "Scanning for three-dimensional restoration. Tell me when" Simmons states

 _"When. Um, looks like a staff or a rod,"_ Fitz says as he separates the staff from the wood on the holo table, he looks at it and notes _"Well crafted. Engraved. I'll convert it, print a 3-D model"._

"This forest is a protected reserve, I mean, who do they think they are?" The forest guard says with growing frustration, Coulson changes the topic to stop the man from becoming any more emotional "Anything else? Details? Anything that might help us to find these people or where they might be hiding" He asks.

His comms activate as May and Skye are at the holo table in the command center "Sir, doesn't look like they're hiding" Skye says as a video shows a news station reporting a violent outbreak in the Streets of Oslo, May taps a few buttons on the tablet "Sending to your devices now" She states

 _"... leaving 20 injured, 3 in critical condition. Reports indicate that the group of about a dozen was led by this man and woman, and though their motive was unclear, their message was hauntingly spelled out on the Streets of Oslo"_ A female news reporter says. 

"Well, I guess we know how they think they are," He says, walking up to Ward and Shaw showing them the video as it pans over words written in flames 'We are Gods'

**3rd Pov, Location: The Lab**

The screen has both suspects name and information as Ward points to the man "Jakob Nystrom, 30" before moving over to the woman and pointing at her "Girlfriend, Petra Larsen" Walking to the holo table where Skye, Fitz-Simmons, and Shaw are "Leaders of a Norse Paganist hate group" Skye starts talking "And their numbers are growing, thanks to what happened in Greenwich and thanks to the internet. Yay, internet, she said sarcastically." Skye says

"Norse Paganist?" Simmons asks and Ward nods his head while Shaw elaborates "Obsessed with anything derived from Norse Mythology -- Stories of Asgard" He finishes with, Ward moves to the holo table and grabs the 3-D model "And now a weapon"

Fitz points towards the model "The scan only accounted for one side. Too much damage to the tree for complete reproduction." Simmons continues "But see here -- It's clearly broken on both ends." She says, motioning to the end of the model 

"So there are more pieces? Great just what we needed" Shaw says caustically "Yeah. Two at least" Fitz says "Thanks Captain Obvious" Shaw replies and Fitz blushes embarrassingly before looking down, Ward glares at Shaw "Which means Sid and Nancy may be looking for a complete set" He states, turning back to there photos

Coulson and May walk in as Ward examines the staff "The markings?" "Asgardian symbolism" Coulson answers, walking up to the holo table "Hard to translate with our limited knowledge"

"You should give your buddy The God of Thunder a shout. He gets his power from his hammer, right? What if this is his nail to the hammer?" Skye asks Coulson and he swiftly responds "I already did, Director Fury told me he's off the grid. And if he has a cellphone, we don't have the number."

"S.H.I.E.L.D's investigations are on the trail of Nystrom and his followers." May says and Coulson investigates the model staff, not looking up he adds "We're charged with identifying the object and finding any other pieces before they do"

Shaw pipes up "You know when you had found the hammer who did you turn to for help?" He asks and Coulson looks up "There was a man I consulted who's one of the world's leading experts on Norse Mythology -- Elliot Randolph-" Coulson says and Shaw's eyes light up in recognition "-A Professor at a University in Seville " Shaw cuts in and Coulson nods "We leave immediately. Maybe he can tell us more about these markings" Coulson states

**3rd Pov, Location: Seville, Spain**

The sound of a pen writing on a piece of paper fills the room as a man instructs one of his students "Well, one must adapt, Elena. Recent events have thrown us all for a loop. I thought I was teaching Norse Mythology. But no, turns out I'm a History Professor" Professor Elliot Randolph remarks to his student, he puts a cap on the pen and looks up to the student "So, you're not going to change my grade?" The student, Elena, asks as Professor Randolph stands up "No. I will give you a week to rewrite it. I think, in general, little more history, less Lit Crit" He walks his student to the door "But I do hope we're still on for dinner tonight. I've included a list of books there that might help you" He states before stopping "I'll see you later"

When he opens the door Coulson steps through followed by Fitz-Simmons "Professor Randolph" He says as a way of greeting "Agent Coulson. Come in, come in" He says enthusiastically, Coulson points to the pen Randolph is holding "Waterfield 44. 14-Karat-Gold nib with Mother-of-Pearl inlay" Randolph chuckles

"That's quite an eye you've got. I didn't know you were a collector" Randolph says and Coulson smiles "On a government salary, not quite" He replies with. Randolph looks at the young man and woman that followed Coulson in "Well, I'm assuming you found something on the ground in London" Coulson walks to the briefcase that Fitz brought in "In a tree in Norway," He corrects Randolph

"And, unfortunately, we weren't the ones who found it" Coulson states before pulling out the partial model and handing it to Randolph "It's a 3-D model" Randolph looks at the staff and studies it "Oh, that is amazing." He goes to look at it under the light, missing Fitz's small smile "Now, based on these runes, I'd say I'm looking at a piece of the Berserker Staff" He states, going to one of his many books "Let's have a look"

He grabs a book and flips to one of the pages "Yeah, the myth dates back to the late 12th century. It's all about a powerful warrior from Asgard. A soldier in the Berserker army." He says showing a photo of said warrior "Berserker army?" Fitz asks, Randolph looks to Fitz "Oh, Yeah. A powerful army, fierce army it was. Beserkers battled like raging beasts, destroying everything in their path. A single Berserker had the strength of 20 warriors"

"So whoever wielded the Staff got superhuman strength" Coulson prompts, Randolph turns to Coulson with the model "Fighting with it put the warrior into a state of uncontrollable rage. The staff contained powerful magic." He states and Simmon jumps in "Or a scientific attribute we've yet to discover" Randolph chuckles "Analytically minded and pretty as a peach"

"The warrior in the story," Fitz asks and Randolph continues "Well, in the story, he came to earth to fight, but ended up falling in love."

"With whom?" Simmons questions 

"With life on earth. Humanity. He fell so much in love that when his army returned to Asgard, he stayed behind" Randolph answers

"What happened to the staff?" Fitz asks as he looks down to the half model, Randolph sighs and looks at it "Well, he didn't want its dark magic falling into the wrong hands, so he broke it into three pieces and hid each one in a different location"

"The manuscripts wouldn't happen to say where he hid them, would it?" Asks Coulson and Randolph turns back to the book "Actually, it does" He answers, he grabs the book "In three verses. Now, let's all bear in mind these are poetic abstracts from long-lost ancient texts." He states, setting down the book

"So there is one about a tree, which they've found, it seems. Another is, 'East of the river, sun overhead, buried in the earth with the bones of the dead.' That's a bit Macabre, isn't it?" He asks rhetorically, he smiles before his eyes drift back to the page "There's another here. Well, this one doesn't even have a rhyme. But the gist of it is 'Close to God.'" He looks up thoughtfully "That could be anything, then"

"It could also mean nothing" Simmons counters and Randolph tilts his head "I was hoping for less metaphor, more longitude, and latitude" Coulson states, Randolph, closes the book and sets it down "Well, I mean, it does stand to reason to search near Viking raid routes, doesn't it?"

He walks to the other side of the table "Now, there have been some recent interesting findings of Norse Relics on Baffin Island off the coast of Canada. Yeah, a virtual treasure trove of new artifacts" He continues as he leans forward onto the table 

"We'll start there, then. Thank you, Professor" Coulson says to Randolph

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

Coulson, Ward, and Shaw all walk to the command center as Coulson speaks up "Did you know there's Mount Thor on Baffin Island?" Both Ward and Shaw looked at each other before Ward speaks up "We did not"

"Do you know what's not on Mount Thor? Anything Asgardian at all. Our agents on the ground haven't found a thing" Coulson states, annoyed

"What about you?" Ward asks as they walk into the Command Center where Skye is "Nystrom's deep-web message boards are just abuzz with psychos they believe they're gonna ascend to be the Gods of Destruction and Death. People suck, sir" Skye says sardonically, "That's your progress? 'People suck'?" Shaw asks

"These people do, and there's also chatter about going underground" Skye adds and Ward looks to Coulson "Could mean going incognito or-" Wards cut off by Coulson "-Or searching for the next piece" Shaw looks up to Skye, "Randolph says to check Viking Routes, find any others?"

"There are some sites along the Volga River in Russia, some in Kiev, and, weirdly, here." Skye says before tapping the map on the holo table to highlight Seville "In Seville, Spain?" Coulson asks "It's a long shot, but Vikings sacked Seville twice" Skye responds

May walks into the room suddenly "We found one promising location with Viking Relics -- El Divino Niño. A Church built on the ruins of an 8th-Century Crypt built on Roman Ruins from 206 B.C"

"East of a River" Ward states with thin lips "And lots of bones" Coulson adds "Let's see what we can dig up," He says before looking up and motioning to the two "See what I did there?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson, Fitz, and Shaw are in the car with Shaw in the back, sharpening his knife "Must be nice -- Have a mandatory nap time" Fitz says with a tablet in his hands "Siesta isn't Mandatory. Just very pleasant" Coulson says as they look at the barren street in front of them 

_"How you doing, Agent Ward?"_ Coulson says through comms as Ward moves through the crypt with his flashlight drawn and tablet in his hand "Wishing I was shorter" He says sarcastically, he looks at his tablet to see it normal "All my readings are normal"

"What about you, Skye? Any luck?" Coulson asks and Skye has her flashlight also out along with the tablet too, she looks around before answering jokingly "I'm lucky my SO volunteered to take super-creepy hallway instead of less-creepy dungeon-room place."

"I got nothing," Ward says through comms as Fitz speaks up _"Ward, your spectrograph is reading something near you"_ He states and Ward looks down at his tablet, seeing nothing "I don't see anything" Before looking around you _"Well, it's right in front of you"_ Fitz replies before correcting himself _"Oh, wait. No. Uh, okay, hold on. It's moving. Northwest"_

Ward looks and sees a person walk away "Visual contact" He states as he runs towards to figure _"Ward, turn left"_ And Ward does that as he grabs the person only to reveal Professor Randolph with the stick in his bag "I have a wonderful explanation" He says hurridly and Ward looks at the Professor pointedly "Ran into some unexpected com-" Ward stops talking as he grabs the staff and starts to gasp in pain as the staff starts to glow

_A kid desperately tries to stay afloat as he yells out of a Well, tears falling down his face_

Ward groans in pain as the memories flash through like they were just happening "Ward, what's happening?" Coulson asks with urgency as Shaw hops out of the car and goes to where Ward is, Fitz shows the tablet to Coulson as Shaw exits "His device just went down"

 _"Skye, Shaw is on his way, can you find-"_ Coulson starts "Already on it," Skye says as she turns around the corner and finds Ward on the ground, passed out "Ward. Are you all right?" She asks and Ward gets up suddenly, scrambling away from her as Shaw comes up behind them

Shaw looks at Skye desperately trying to calm him down and he quickly moves up to Ward and punches him in the face, rendering unconscious and Skye turns around to Shaw "What the hell-" She says "He was stuck in panic, emotions were out of the place, seemed to be stuck in a trauma I knocked him out." Shaw states emotionlessly before putting his hand to comms "Sir, I've got him, had to knock him out he was unresponsive to Skye's attempt to calm him down" He ignores the glare of Skye and goes to pick him up, surprising Skye by lifting him over his shoulders and walking to the entrance with ease

When Skye, Shaw, and an unconscious Ward come into view for Coulson he sighs in relief and opens the door "One hell of a scare" Coulson says, and frowns at Shaw's lack of emotions "Yeah, fist happy here took Ward out" Skye says, glaring at Shaw but he acts like he doesn't see, Shaw steps out of the car and looks to Coulson "I'll find my way to the Bus" Before shutting the door and walking away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Randolph walks nervously to his car, checking his shoulders as he bumps into a group of guys, the group turns to Randolph and notices the staff, they discreetly follow him until they reach his car before showing up right in front of him as Jakob speaks up "I have one, too" He says before holding up the other staff.

Coulson hears to sound of someone yelling, getting out of the car and turning around to see a car flip onto the streets "Well I guess we found the staff" He says to himself as he runs to where the car was flipped, hiding his surprise when he sees Randolph stuffing his books in his back, the Professor looks up to Coulson "Professor" Coulson greets calmly and Randolph sucks his lower lip before tsking "I screwed up" 

Coulson takes a deep breath. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward has his shirt off while Fitz-Simmons are checking him over "This is ridiculous" Ward says annoyingly "It's anything but. Ward, you passed out then when you woke up Shaw proceded to punch you straight in the face" Skye exclaims, Ward looks at Skye incredulously "So that's why my jaw hurts? For once I might thank him" And Skye stutters "T-Thank him! He knocked you out!"

"Was I responding to you? No. I don't remember anything af-after..." He trails off as he recounts what happened, he shakes his head, ignoring the looks Fitz-Simmons and Skye are giving him "Where is Shaw anyway?" He asks and Skye scoffs "Hell if I know. I kinda snapped at him after he knocked you out" She says the last part regretfully

"And also Coulson ordered me to give you a full work-up since Shaw hit your head and since you passed out" Simmons states to him, reading his diagnostics on her tablet "Um, before you lost consciousness, were you feeling claustrophobic?" Simmons asks

Ward scrunches his eyebrows "Why?" "She's ruling out a panic attack," Fitz says distractedly "I don't panic. Ever." Ward answers "There we go. Ruled out" Simmons says, smiling at the end and Skye speaks up "Touching the staff caused it, right?" And Ward sighs

"Any residual effects? Are you exhibiting any extra s-strength" Simmons asks hesitantly and Ward sighs "Why don't I find out on that guy" 

"Why don't we _not_ do that?" Skye counters and Fitz reads something off of his tablet "What's the last thing you remember before you lost consciousness?" He asks Ward stands and pulls his arm out of the pressure machine, his voice suddenly rising a little bit "This is a waste of time. We need to find the staff."

"What exactly do you remember?" Fitz questions again and Ward puts his hands on the table "Something I hadn't thought about in a long time" He tells.

The sound of a motorcycle comes from the Cargo hold as Shaw turns off the bike and pulls off his helmet, running his hand through his hair, he walks into the lab "Hey Fitz-Simmons" He says nonchalantly, Simmons waves at him before frowning and walking up to him, grabbing his hand "What did you do?" She asks as she sees the bruising on his knuckles "Nothing" He says and pulls his arm out of her grasp "What do we got?" He asks Ward and he motions with his head to the screen that shows Randolph and Coulson in the interrogation room

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson is standing across from Randolph who's hands are folded together "One of my men is hurt. The staff is gone." "I didn't want any of that to happen," Randolph says slowly and Coulson walks up to the table "What did you want? The staff's power for yourself?" Coulson inquires and Randolph shakes his head "Nothing like that" He sighs "You know, I just wanted to be the first to study it, to prove that the Berserkers were actually here, a part of history" Coulson's lips are in a firm line as Randolph continues "You think about that"

"Oh, I'm thinking about it" Coulson repeating what Randolph said tersely

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The screen in the lab suddenly turns off and Ward turns to look at Simmons with one would think of outrage "What are you doing?" He asks angrily "Your heart rate's rising. Adrenaline's spiking. You need to calm down, not get worked up" She says calmly and he turns back to the holo table, taking deep breaths

Skye leans forward and softly says to Ward "The memory -- Was it about your brother?" She asks and Ward looks at her "Drop it" He was warningly "Ward, if you need to get it out, I am here-" She says

"Right. To talk" He says clipped "Because that's what you do -- Talk... and talk. Don't you ever get tired of hearing your own voice?" Ward says, leaning forward menacingly, not noticing Shaw advance subtlely, Fitz steps to Ward and puts a hand on his shoulder "Ward, stop" And Ward raises his fist to punch Fitz buts lowers it 

"Well! This makes more sense" Simmons says, interrupting Ward from doing anything else "Ward, what you're experiencing, this feeling -- It's chemistry" "Hope so" Shaw says slowly and Ward jumps, not realizing how close he was "Yeah, spikes in his Adrenocorticotropic Hormone. It's like those stories you hear when a mother is able to lift a car to save her baby an adrenaline surge can create a massive-" "Stop talking! Just fix it!" Ward says to Simmons, she takes a step back "I wish I could. We can relieve some of the symptoms. I'm going to give you 10cc of Benzodiazepine" 

"Chill pill. Good idea" Skye says, Ward turns to Shaw and then turns back to Fitz-Simmons and Skye "A sedative? Not gonna happen" Shaw steps in "Ward, remove yourself, you're losing it" "Losing it?" Ward says incredulously "Yeah, be reasonable. Look how you're behaving" Fitz says nervously and Ward steps up in Fitz and he shrinks "And if I'm sedated. And we cross paths with those juiced freaks, the ones who flip cars and smash people up, are you going to take them on?" Ward says, putting a finger to Fitz's chest and Shaw grabs Ward by the arm and slams him into the wall, knife to his throat "You talk to Fitz again like that and this blade will have blood all over it" Shaw says, and they all shiver at how dangerous his voice sounds

"You're going to leave and calm down, I'll handle the mess. You're too emotional and personally I think your mind is all fucked up, so get" Shaw says before releasing Ward, he rubs his neck aggressively before grabbing his shirt and stalking off

Shaw puts his knife back in his belt and doesn't look at Fitz-Simmons and Skye "Sorry you guys had to see that" He says before also turning to leave. 

Coulson has a seat and asks Randolph "How'd they find it?" He asks "I have no idea how they found it" Randolph answers genuinely "They may have original texts. I wasn't involved. You know, it was just a chance to uncover something that gods brought down from the heavens"

"Aliens brought it. From space" Coulson corrects him "I've spent some one-on-one time with Aliens before. It didn't work out too well. So cases like this are personal to me" Coulson states and Randolph looks at the honeycomb prison "That's all I know" Randolph repeats, Coulson stands up and heads to leave the room, and turns to Randolph "Get comfortable" He says before closing the door and leaving Randolph in there alone

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward slams his fist on the punching bag with a new ferocity, music playing in his ear, he grunts as he repeatedly hits the bag, memories resurfacing

_The kid desperately tries to stay afloat as he groans in exhausting from having to keep his head above water_

Ward grabs the bag, stopping it before continuing again

_The kid screams "Help me!" As a kid pops his head out at the top of the well "Please! Help me!" The kid screams, going underwater before resurfacing "Please!" He cries desperately_

Ward hits the bag aggressively as he hears May shout behind him "Hey, Ward!" And Ward on reaction turns around to punch the person but she quickly gets out of the way, he looks at her "You should be more careful" "I'm fine. You?" She counters, he goes back to the bag "I'm working it out" He says before punching the bag again

"You're punching things. The last thing you need is to punch things" She says, taking a cautious step forward, he puts his hands on the bag, turning his head to face her "You got a better idea?" He asks, "Let me help you," She says and Ward says through his clenched teeth "The only help I need is to stop those guys before they hurt someone else" He turns back to the bag, punching it violently

**3rd Pov, Location: Unknown**

Larson walks to the group of followers as two other men follow her, she reaches there as Jakob yells to the group of followers "We are the New Order! Our world is being taken by Gods! We will become Gods and take it back! This is the new order!" He yells to the group passionately, he walks to his girlfriend, holding two of the staffs as the two men are standing directly in front of him "Are you ready to take back the power?" He asks the two men, and both nod, he holds out the staff as both men grab them, they fall to their knees as the staff glows red, and they both open their eyes 

Jakob raises both arms to the air and yells victoriously at the group as they continue to cheer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson sits in his office as he watches Randolph sit patiently in his chair, he hears the knock on his door and looks over to find Ward standing there "A moment, sir?" He asks "Come on in" Coulson answers, and Ward takes a few steps to Coulson before taking a deep breath "I'm concerned that my exposure to that weapon has compromised my ability to do my job." Ward states 

"Go on," Coulson says "You're familiar with my family history" And Coulson nods before Ward continues "So, for obvious reasons, I don't think back to childhood. Ever. There are things I put away a long time ago. On lockdown. Because to do this, I have to be focused, tactical. I can't be distracted" He says and Coulson acknowledges "Especially by things that happened a lifetime ago"

"You're saying touching the staff unlocked certain memories," Coulson says, reading inbetween the lines "My worst memory. The first time I felt..." Ward says and for the first time Coulson hears and sees Ward crack "Hate" He finishes 

"And it won't go away. I don't trust myself. The way I went off at Skye and Fitz-Simmons in the lab -- Shaw had to slam me against the wall to stop me-" He's cut off by Coulson's gently voice "Grant..." Coulson says, using his first name "You telling me this, makes me feel I can trust you." And Ward nods his head, a small smile gracing his lips 

"Him, on the other hand..." Coulson says, standing up from his desk and Ward turns to the screen "I can't get the Professor to talk" He turns to Ward "You've got some rage built up. Maybe it's time to let it out" And Ward smiles, they both turn to the screen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Randolph sits in the chair, handcuffs keeping his hands in place as Ward walks, lips in a thin line "You need to start talking" Ward says stiffly "I told Agent Coulson everything I know" Randolph says and Ward walks up to him "You're lying. Tell me what that thing did to me and how to fix it." 

"I swear I don't know," Randolph says, turning to Ward and he clenches his jaw, drawing a switchblade from his hands and leans forward on the table "Okay, then" He states before aiming the blade right at his chest and Randolph breaks free from the handcuffs, grabbing the blade by the end and bending it as Ward looks at the previously straight blade

Ward pulls back and looks at it, the door opens as Coulson steps in "You were right. He's Asgardian"

"Good thing. Otherwise, that would have been awfully embarrassing" Coulson states

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of the more harder ones to write so feedback is appreciated!


	12. I Held A Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So midterms are coming up... fuck  
> Trigger warning, mentions of torture and a violent death

**3rd Pov, Location: Interrogation Room**

Randolph snaps the cuffs off with ease and looks at Coulson "Okay, I have to know. How did you figure me out?" Randolph asks "Did the math" Coulson says before continuing "One -- You're not the first Asgardian I've had in custody. You guys don't flinch or panic in captivity." And Randolph folds his hands, listening to every word that comes out of Coulson's mouth with interest "Two -- A Waterfield 44? On a Lit Professor's salary? I don't think so" 

Randolph shakes his hand at him with understanding "And lastly, when I tell someone I've had some one-on-one time with an Alien, they tend to be a little curious." He finishes with and Randolph crosses his arms as Ward glares at him "Well, you're certainly more observant than most, Agent Coulson" Randolph tells him

Coulson straightens up, seeing that he'll finally talk now that they know "So, you're the Asgardian Warrior who stayed" He states, Randolph, flicks his eyes to Ward "Please don't tell anyone." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I had no clue" Fitz states, astonished, before turning to Simmons "Did you?" He asks and Simmons shakes her head "Hidden in plain sight -- An actual Asgardian. Brillant" He adds as the screen in the Command Center shows the interrogation, Skye and Shaw with them

"How long do you suppose he's been on our planet?" Skye asks the group "A thousand years. Maybe more. If we could just cut him open a little bit, get some tissue samples, maybe some bodily fluids, we could find out" Simmons says and Skye looks at her in confusion while Shaw in disgust "He may be Alien but he also looks and acts very human. How would you feel if people found out you were different and they wanted to dissect you, Simmons?" Shaw asks her with an accusing tone

Simmons looks down, Skye looks at Shaw and hits him in the ribs "This is way, way better than the history channel" Skye says, trying to diffuse the tension in the room "I mean, this guy has lived through all the scary stuff -- The Crusades, The Black Death, Disco" She adds as May walks into with Command Center with her head in a tablet

"What are you doing?" Shaw asks "Sealing the interrogation room door" May states distractedly and all of them turn to look at her "Coulson's orders," May says defensively. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The locks engage in the Interrogation room and Randolph looks around "Ah, locking me in," He says "Well, I've been in tighter spots" He says shrugging and Ward responds "This room is made of a Silicon Carbide-coated Vibranium alloy" He smiles dangerously "Meant for prisoners like yourself" And Randolph leans in "But you're in here, too" And points to the door "And eventually, somebody will open that door"

"Not if I tell them not to" Coulson answers calmly and Ward smirks "So, the myth is your Autobiography" and Randolph raises one hand in exasperation "I didn't write it" He states "I didn't want anyone to know about me" Sighing, stuffing his hands in his pocket "Then I had to open my big mouth"

"Were you captured? Tortured?" Ward inquires and Randolph shakes his head "Horny." And Coulson puts his hands in his pocket smiling at that "I met a French Girl in 1546. Ah, she loved stories. So... I told her a great one, all about the peaceful Asgardian Warrior who stayed, now, how was I supposed to know her brother the Priest would write it all down and turn it into, I don't know, a thing?" 

"Do you know Thor?" Coulson asks "Oh, _sure_ , I spent all my days palling around with the future king of Asgard," Randolph says sarcastically "No, I don't know Thor. I was a mason. I broke rocks" He bitterly chuckles "For thousands of years. If you can imagine that. So when they came, asking for people to fight, well yes, of course, I signed up." He says leaning back and Coulson's lips quirk up

"I think, really, I just wanted to travel," He says "But you had the staff," Ward says "I hated that thing" Randolph answers "Other guys loved all the power that comes with the rage. No, I didn't like it at all" Randolph says, scrunching up his face before leaning on the table "And you don't, either, it seems"

"What did it do to me?" Ward asks, looking down for the first time and Randolph responds "It shines a light into your dark places. It doesn't matter if your human, Asgardian. The effect is the same -- Unpleasant" Ward clenches his jaw.

_"'Shines a light' that's no explanation," Simmons says and they all look at her_

"It was forged from a rare metal and reacts to whoever is holding it or interacts. I went to such great lengths to make sure that the staff wasn't found. Unfortunately, since the myth was written down, people have been searching for it for Centuries." 

"I need your help to stop them before they get the last piece of your staff," Coulson tells Randolph "Oh, I am a pacifist now," Randolph says "And you don't want to risk your identity being discovered" Coulson corrects him

"Listen, I wouldn't worry too much about these angry youths. They always calm down, and eventually, they die of old age. And that is one of the pleasant aspects of life here" He taps the table "Everything changes." Ward takes a deep breath as the rage starts to build up "I'll tell you what's gonna change. Your anonymity... unless you help find the final piece of your staff" Randolph looks down and Coulson goes to his last resort "You may not know Thor. But I do" He threatens 

Randolph looks to Coulson and Ward smirks as he sees Randolph give in, "My first love on this planet was Ireland. There was a monastery, and the monks gave me a nice, warm place to sleep, some soup, and some mulled wine" 

"Near God" Coulson repeats as he understands what the poem now meant and Randolph points to Coulson in acknowledgment.

**3rd Pov, Location: Ireland**

The plane lands in the Airstrip as Randolph leans on the outside walls of the lab, May walks but and Shaw shoves a S.H.I.E.L.D case in Randolph's hands. Ward walks up to Randolph and leans in to whisper "The effects of the staff -- Are they permanent?" He asks and Randolph looks at him "The strength wears off" Randolph answers vaguely "You will feel exhausted afterward. You'll need sleep."

"What about... the other effects?" Ward questions "Oh, that dark, nasty ache in the pit of your stomach, the rage in your chest that makes you feel as if your heart's about to explode?" Randolph asks and Ward nods subtly "It's worse on humans. But give it a few decades, and it'll wear off, too" Randolph says simply and Ward looks away at him "Great" He says, clipped, walking away tensely and Skye looks at him as he slams the door of the SUV, shes next to Coulson "Are you sure Ward's okay to go into the field?"

"He's not exactly acting like himself" She states and Coulson looks to Ward who is now in the car "But he knows it. He'll be fine" And Skye turns to May who just joined them "I'm with Coulson," She says simply before walking away too 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, it's been a while. I wonder -- Ah, yes, there it is" Randolph says as they walk into the empty monastery and head to the front of the room "Still here" He sighs and looks at the book that has him on the pages "Well, the nose isn't quite right, but-" He says and the group trails behind him "That's you?" Fitz cuts him off "Yeah. They venerated me a bit as a saint" 

"They're idiots," Ward says dryly as he watches the entrance, Shaw humming in agreement as he watches the other one "Where's the staff?" Shaw asks "It's upstairs," Randolph says and Shaw moves to the front of the group, hand on his throwing knife

"Is that the normal Ward or the new, angrier Ward?" Skye asks Coulson as they stay behind the group "I can't tell"

Shaw and Randolph reach the top first "It's quiet" May says and Randolph goes to the secret spot "Why do you think I trusted them with my secret? They take a vow of silence" He answers and looks to find the staff missing. Jakob walks in suddenly, staff in his hand "But when you get them talking... they squeal" He says before stabbing Randolph in the chest 

Skye looks on in wide eyes "If you want to defeat a God, you must become one" Jakob states crazily, holding another staff piece and Shaw suddenly moves to Randolph's chest, grabbing the staff before Ward does and shuts his eyes in pain as the staff glows bright red "Shaw I got it!" Ward says and Shaw shakes his head, pushing Ward away, before opening his eyes and screaming as memories resurface, pushing Jakob over the wall.

Shaw grabs Jakob by the back of the jacket and slams him on the ground, he grunts "We need to help him" Skye says before running down the steps and Coulson turns to Skye's retreating figure down the stairs "I'll get her" May says, quickly following her and Coulson turns to the dying Asgardian as Simmons tries to do CPR but is failing, Fitz and Ward watching in concern

"How is he?" Coulson asks and Simmons freaks out "I don't know what to do. He's not human" "He's dying," Coulson says and Fitz jumps in "We know, but she doesn't understand his anatomy" He explains "And I'm even w-" He starts but is cut off by Coulson shoving his hand into the hole in his chest "What the fuck" Ward exclaims

"Sometimes, you have to just jump in and figure things out. Now, Asgardians regenerate faster than we do. Maybe we can keep him alive long enough-" Coulson states "-For his body to heal itself," Simmons says, finishing his sentence. Coulson looks at Simmons "Okay, what am I looking for?" "His heart" Simmons responds hesitantly

Shaw gets thrown into the wall and falls violently to the ground 

_He's in the cage, 10 years old, looking around desperately for any way to escape, hearing the cell door opens he shrinks into the wall_

Shaw grabs a piece of wood from off the ground and hits Jakob with it, smashing into pieces, Jakob doubles over and Shaw hits his staff away from him and knees him in the face, causing Jakob to hit the door behind him, dead.

"Oh, I feel it. Heart" Coulson says and Simmons smiles, "Can you feel a tear or rupture?" Fitz asks and Coulson turns back to Randolph "Clamp down hard on his heart. Try to slow the bleeding." Simmons adds and Coulson nods.

"Shaw, drop the staff," Skye says and Shaw turns around "Get back Skye," He says through clenched teeth "Agent Shaw," May says, running up behind Skye "This isn't you" Skye tries to tell him calmly, his breathing becomes more erratic, sweat pours down his face

The door opens and Shaw turns to find some of Jakob's goons "Get back" Shaw says, kneeling down to grab the second staff, it glows powerful red as more memories flash

_The guards face leers down at him "Get up boy"_

He takes a deep breath as one of the men try to hit him, he hits them with the staff, stabbing him in the chest and sending him up in the air

_He's shoved onto the lab table_

Another man charges at him and he steps to the left, stabbing him quickly before pulling out and flipping another man who runs at him, he steps up and hits another man repeatedly

_"Welcome to your new home"_

He screams

_The room is white, not a speck of dust, dirt, or blood. His parents are on the ground, bloody and beaten. They grab him by his arms and he tries to fight them but it works to no avail. They strap him to the table and turns him to face his parents, the restraints holding him in place"You're a special Specimen 1 and you will submit, forcefully or willingly" The man spits in his face before nodding to the two guards holding his parents upright. He screams as they groan at the movement of being forced on their knees, the guards grab there guns from there belts and they both cock the gun, pointing it at his parents head "Mom, Dad" He sobs, they try to look at him "We love you, baby" His mom says "Stay strong. Lukas" His dad says, the guards pull the trigger and he watches his parents get shot in the head, blood splatters everywhere, they're brain matter paints the walls. The guards shoot them until their clips are empty. Until their bodies are nothing but bullet holes and blood. He screams and screams. "You now belong to us," The man says as they grab electrical wires and place them on his body "And you will learn to obey," The man says before turning on the electricity, his screams echo through the room, the only image in his mind is his parents eyes drain of life._

He looks around as bodies litter the ground, dropping the staffs as he breaths heavily and gets on all fours, Skye runs up to him "Oh, my god. Are you okay" She asks and she sees his vacant eyes and knows the answer, she raps his arm over her shoulder "Come here" And starts to lift him up, the door opens as Lawson opens the door, staff in hand "You've got to be kidding me," Skye says and Shaw sighs before going to grab the two staffs but is stopped by May's hand on his forearm

"Let me help, unlike Ward," May says and Shaw leans back exhaustedly, Skye repeats what she did and helps him stand up, Lawson looks at Jakob, blood pooling from his head

May grabs the two staffs, they glow bright red and she inhales, the man that was with Lawson notices her and runs up to her and he goes flying into the wall, Lawson runs behind up and brings the staff downward only to get stopped by May putting both staffs up. May dodges the next few swings at her before hitting her in the face, Lawson stabs at May, blindly, but she grabs the staff and pulls it away from her and drops to one knee making Lawson flips

Lawson is slow to get up and May walks to the third part of the staff and they all connect, she gasps as the power and anger rushes in, Lawson gets up weakly and looks at May "I am not afraid of you" She says before running up to May only to get hit in the face by the staff, sending her across the room and unconscious. May sets the staff down gingerly and her hands shake as she looks over to Skye and Shaw, noticing how Ward joined them

Ward nods at May, Shaw is looking at Lawson with a vacant expression. Reliving his past in silent torture.

Randolph gasps as Coulson starts his heart up again "Am I dead?" Randolph asks "Apparently not," Coulson says, removing his hand from Randolph's heart and they chuckle breathlessly, Simmons smiles and looks at Randolph "You are easily the most beautiful thing I've seen in a thousand years," He states, somewhat deliriously.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye, Fitz, and Simmons all are together "Coulson did that?" Skye asks incredulously "He just shoved his hand inside?" "Well, he had to. I froze, didn't know what to do" Simmons answers "Hey, you didn't freeze" Fitz defends her from herself "You just got... put in a situation-" Fitz starts off before Simmons phones ring and she pulls it out of her pocket to reveal her mom and dad calling and turns to look at Fitz "Maybe I should jump in" and Fitz smiles "Yeah"

Simmons walks away, leaving Fitz and Skye to themselves and Skye turns to Fitz "Did you see Shaw after he held the staff?" And Fitz nods "He looked, dead, y-you know" And Skye nods, "Randolph says it 'Shines a light in dark places'" Skye shrugs and Fitz gets a considerate look on his face "Maybe it relives your worst memories," Fitz says "Maybe..." Skye murmurs to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward and May sit together, Shaw off talking to Coulson silently "When you held it, did you see anything?" Ward asks and May nods as she looks at the ground, he turns his face "Then how? Shaw after the staff was bad, and so was mine, but how did you do it? How did you hold all three?" May holds her wrist in her hands "Because I see it every day" May states before walking away, leaving Ward to think

Coulson squats at the staff with Shaw behind him, not going near it, he inches his hand to the staff and Randolph walks up to him "I know that look" He says "You tempted? What is it you want to see?" And Coulson ignores the question "You and I have a lot in common. We've both been stabbed in the heart" He gets up and looks at Randolph "I was killed. Well, almost. I'm hazy on that" And looks back down at the staff "Afterwards... is kind of a blank" 

"I have no memory of being revived, of being in a hospital. Just... woke up a few months later" He vents "And are you haunted by it, Mr. Coulson?" Randolph asks and he looks back up to him "No. Not exactly" And Randolph shrugs "Then what's the problem?"

Coulson looks down at the staff and then smiles to himself "I suppose you're right" And Coulson and Randolph walk, Shaw trailing behind them "Can we give you a lift back to the University?" Coulson asks and Randolph hesitates "Well, you know, with Europe's new fascination with all things Asgardian, I'm wondering if it's time to start over somewhere else"

"Nice beach? Life of tropical drinks and massages?" Coulson questions and Randolph tuts "Oh, I'd get bored" And then Coulson gets excited "You should consider the American Northwest. Maybe Portland. Good food scene, great philharmonic" He says and Randolph adds "Well, if you will come and visit. It's not everyone I get to share my stories with"

"Sure," Coulson says and they continue walking towards the exit "And if Thor's in town, I'll introduce you."

**3rd Pov, Location: Ireland Hotel**

Ward stirs his drink slowly, not a sip taking, he stares at the bar and Skye walks up to him "Hey" She says and Ward looks at her as she glances around "I could get used to turndown service and little mints on my pillow" She smiles and Ward shakes his head "Overnights aren't standard" Bringing the drink up to his lips, taking a small sip "We deserve a nice night" Skye counters "You and Shaw especially" He looks down back to his drink

"How you feeling?" She asks and Ward answers honestly "Not great" looking at her for a second "I'm sorry," He says "For before. I'm... I'm not that guy" Ward tries to explain and Skye scoffs "When you're a guy who saves lives, I can overlook a little hulk rage. No harm, no foul. I've had worse friends" Wards lips quirk up and he shakes his head

"Does everything just roll off your back?" He asks "No," She says "If it helped, I'd rage all the times, but it doesn't" She admits, Ward opens his mouth, trying to gather his words "What I saw... it was about my brother," He says, voice cracking up and Skye leans forward and looks at him sadly "I figured"

She puts a hand on his wrist "I know you're not one to talk, but, like I said, I'm here. My shoulders free" She states, bringing her hand back to her chest and he smiles inhaling and changes the subject "I'm beat" He gets up "Another time, maybe" Before taking a sip of his drink "Well, you know where I live" Skye says jokingly and he smiles before walking to his room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It was like I was there Coulson" Shaw says, pacing back in forth in his room "I don't think of that day ever, it's the day I became Shaw" He says and Coulson watches him calmly as Shaw vents for five more minutes before collapsing on the chair, running his hand through his hair and sighing "I saw them die again" He says brokenly and Coulson gets up and puts a hand on his shoulder "I won't say I understand, because I don't, but Shaw, you are you, those people might have affected your life, but you are your own person, you could very well become the person you were before this" He says

Shaw looks up, tears threating to spill "But the kid before that is dead, he died when he watched his parents get killed in front of him" And Coulson smiles sympathetically "I know, and if they where still here then they would be there for you. But now you have other people"

"Like me" He adds and Shaw puts his head in Coulson's chest and cries, Coulson just rubbing his back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward heads to his door and scans card reader, he sees May open her door with a bottle of Jack in her hands. They look at each other and May opens the door, leaving it open for Ward, an invite, he looks around, considering his options before walking into the room, closing the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm leaving out the post-credit scene at the end of the episode but if you want to know, Coulson wakes up from a Thiati nightmare  
> Also now you get why Shaw hates when Simmons talks like people and Aliens are objects


	13. He Shot You, Just an FYI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp... it's been a while, midterms are shit.  
> IMPORTANT: This chapter will be the entire shortened version of ep 10, ep 11 will be combined with this and continue on the next chapter

_**1x10** _

**3rd Pov, Location: Havenworth Federal Penitentiary**

Guards roam the edges of the heavily secured prison as the prisoners eat in the canteen, one inmate eats his steak in a quiet, almost dull, fashion. An inmate walks up to the empty seat and sets his food down, going to sit down when the man previously eating his steak stops "That seat is taken" He states simply, the inmate looks at the man before swiftly grabbing his tray and finding a new place to sit down

The man continues to eat when all of a sudden three men crash through the ceiling, wearing military-type uniforms, one of the soldier's sleeves rides up to reveal a device on his forearm, a Centipede, they take out the guards around the canteen and one of the soldiers steps up to the man

"Time to go," The soldier says to the man, grabbing an oncoming guards shirt and flipping him onto the table as if he weighs nothing, four sets of rope descend from the hole in the ceiling "Sir," The man tells and the soldier looks at the man in confusion "Excuse me?"

"Time to go, _sir_ " The man corrects him and the man repeats what he said as he punches another guard straight in the chest "It's time to go, sir!" The man gets up from his table and walks with the soldier to the cable before they all walk to the ropes, they ascend as the mysterious man and soldiers disappear into a chopper.

**3rd Pov, Location: The Bus**

Skye types away on her computer as she scans agents faces, in her bunk, the sound of a knock from the open door makes her jump as she looks up to see Shaw standing in front of her, the team has been noticing how the man has slowly withdrawn ever since touching the staff, not telling anyone but Coulson what he saw

"Whatcha doing?" He asks and Skye looks to her computer before closing it "Nothing" She says quickly and he raises an eyebrow "Trying to find your parents?" He rephrases and Skye blanches "How'd you know?"

He snorts "Heard Coulson talking to you about it" He states simply and Skye looks at him "How's it going," He asks softly and she gathers herself "I created a program to look at female agents in either marriages or undercover couple ops" Skye scoots over and Shaw unceremoniously falls onto the bed and she snorts

"Not to lower you hope or anything-" He starts off "Wow, way to start of a sentence," Skye says and Shaw stares at Skye "But..." He continues "Just because it was an Agent who dropped you off at the orphanage doesn't mean it was your mother," He says and Skye looks thoughtful, tilting her head to the head "I'll keep that in mind," She says and Shaw looks like he's about to say something else when Coulson walks to them "Command Center I've already told May and Ward."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"At 0-800 hours, three men infiltrated the Havenworth Federal Penitentiary" Coulson starts with "Infiltrated? More like cannonballed" Skye says sarcastically "They were in and out in less than two minutes. Left no prints at the scene, but we do have one lead." Coulson continues at Skye's remark, swiping the holo table the screen shows one the men's arms "Centipede" Ward says what everyone was thinking

"Seems they salvaged some of their research from Hong Kong," Coulson says and Simmons speaks up "So we were right. Chan's platelets solved their combustion problem. Now they can create super soldiers with no fear of explosion" She states as it starts to sound like shes excited Fitz leans in "Maybe don't get so enthusiastic about it" He tells

"Two of Centipede's labs have been destroyed, but they keep popping back up. Now they have at least three of these guys, maybe more" Coulson states and Shaw speaks up "Who did they break out?" He asks and May nods to what he said

"Edison Po, a former marine, expert in tactics and rapid response. He fell off the grid in '08, reappeared 18 months ago at a diner in Boston." Coulson says as he shows Po's mug shot and Ward continues "Where he stabbed a friend's eyes out" Looking to Coulson as he says that "With a steak knife, then finished his meal" Coulson adds

"This guy is a walking mugshot" Skye snorts and everyone rolls there eyes "This means he shouldn't be too hard to track down. Finding Po and these Centipede soldiers is a top priority for S.H.I.E.L.D. We'll be running point, but we won't be working alone" Coulson states and everyone looks at him "What team did HQ send for backup?" May asks

"Not a team -- a person, someone who can help us fight fire with fire," Coulson says vaguely and Skye looks at him "Somebody we worked with before?" She asks 

"Not exactly..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Bulldozer is in the middle of a training ground as a man slams his body into the bag before he starts pushing the Bulldozer across the grounds, as he reaches the white line and stops and turns to the agent recording his time

Mike Peterson looks to the agent as he pants "Did I beat Captain America's time?" He asks and the agent smirks before looking at the stopwatch "Not even close" The agent says and Mike sighs before he picks up the bag and gets ready to drag it back when he hears someone talk to him

"Excuse me," Coulson says and Mike looks at him before smiling "Agent Coulson?" Mike says, he stops picking up the vehicle "Mr. Peterson, if you could put that bulldozer back where you found it... we need you to suit up" Coulson says and takes off his sunglasses for dramatic effect.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Not good at all, the guy was a ticking time bomb -- literally," Ward says, frustration clear in his voice, Shaw looks at the video of the 'Hooded Man' and looks over to them "So this was your first mission?" He asks and they all nod, he snorts "Must've had a fun time, it's clearly Ward's _favorite_ mission so far" "HQ wouldn't have sent him if he was still combustible. They must have found a way to stabilize him somehow" Fitz tells Ward 

"They stabilize his attitude 'cause he was pretty hostile in Union Station" Ward rebutted and Simmons speaks up "Well, it's not like we haven't opened up our doors to other people -- people with questionable track records" And Skye opens her mouth "Not cool, but true," Skye says and then turns to Shaw "We never knew what you did before you joined the team"

Shaw shrugs "Eh, it doesn't matter right now, but just because Mr. Peterson was questionable then doesn't mean he is now," He says, directing the conversation away from him "Who's been in the Centipede Program," Simmons tells him "Exactly. He can give us some superpower backup" Skye counters

"Just saying, this could easily go sideways. I mean, the last time we saw this guy, he was a raging homicidal maniac -- " And looks up to there faces seeing their eyes wide and Shaws smirk "He's standing right behind me isn't he?" Ward asks them and takes Shaw's snort serves as a yes

Coulson turns to Mike "Mr. Peterson, this is Agent Grant Ward. He's the man who shot you at Union Station. Fitz-Simmons designed the weapon he used, Shaw wasn't on the team then, and I think you remember-" "Kidnap victim" Skye says with a bright smile and Mike looks at her and chuckles "You joined S.H.I.E.L.D?" He asks in slight astonishment

"Yeah. Turns out, guys in suits -- not so bad" Skye says then adds "How's your son?" And Mike looks at her "Still with my sister. He thinks I'm working construction, but he's good, happy" He says with a smile.

Coulson starts walking to the holo table "So, what do we have?" He asks the group and Skye speaks up "Not much on Po, I checked his previously known addresses and old military contacts -- came up empty" She states 

"We've been looking for where Po might be on the outside. Let's look at his life on the inside -- at the prison. See if that gets us any leads" Coulson says and Skye nods before he looks at Fitz-Simmons "Anything on the Centipede soldiers?"

"We found a Facial Recognition match on one of them." Simmons says and Shaw taps the holo table before the screen shows a persons face "Name's Brian Hayward" Shaw states "Stationed in Afghanistan for three years, then fell off the radar when he got back"

Skye then adds "Only living relative -- Sister, Laura, a sophomore at the University of Ohio" And brings a photo of her face "She's our best shot at finding Hayward." Coulson turns to Ward "You and I will go talk to her. Have May set a course for Cleveland" Coulson states before leaving the Command Center.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mike walks down to the lab after having his conversation with Agent Coulson and Simmons is already prepared, he takes up his suit and moves to where Simmons gestures to the position to stand in, they work in silence before Simmons asks how the super-soldier serum effects him "I have to put away four times what I used to just to keep my energy up" He tells Simmons and she nods before clearing her throat "Uh, and after you use your strength?"

"Maybe 10 times the food? And I usually crash afterward," He says as Simmons records measurements, Fitz walks into the lab and Mike continues to talk "It's really hard on my body" Simmons distractedly taking measurements nods and says "Hard body. Got it" 

Fitz walks up to them and turns to Simmons "You do know we have equipment that can take measurements" He says, slight jealously tilting his words and Simmons briefly puts her hand on his shoulder "I know Fitz but I'd like to confirm the measurements myself"

She looks at Mike and smiles before turning to Fitz "I'll send the numbers to you straight away" She walks away and Fitz looks to Mike "I need measurements to build you a diagnostic suit so we can monitor your vitals in the field" He looks down to his tablet "As for fabrics, how does a polymer blend with 10 layers of treated composite material sound?" He questions, somewhat bitterly, and Mike looks at him in confusion "Sounds great?" He says uncertainty

They both chuckle and Fitz looks at the device on his arm for a bit longer than necessary, catching himself he looks up to Mike "Sorry. I was -- I was just looking at it, and-" Starts but Mike quickly reassures him its ok, he holds it up to him and continues "They tried to take it off me at the Sci-ops facility. realized they couldn't do it without killing me" 

Fitz looks at it and slowly raises his hand to touch it when Simmons speaks up "I'm afraid we're terribly curious. How did they stabilize the extremis in you?" "And keep you from exploding?" Fitz adds

Mike looks at both of them "Oh, that wasn't them. That was you two" Both scientists look at each other before turning back to face him "Come again?" "What's that?" They both ask at the same time "Your gun" He says like it's obvious "It somehow froze me right at the moment I was about to explode, helped my body absorb the serum, stabilize. Your weapon saved my life"

Fitz looks at Mike in astonishment while Simmons blushes "All that, and it didn't even leave a scar, so..." He says touching the spot where he was shot "Well, I..." "Well, I should think not," They both say "Yeah, we couldn't have that, could we?" Simmons continues with a nervous chuckling "It would be a shame, especially when you're so, well, formed and symmetrical. And wh-when did you stop talking?" Simmons rambles on 

Fitz looks at her "About three embarrassing sentences ago" He says flatly and Simmons looks down "Yes, right" Walking away and Mike chuckles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward and Coulson were driving to the University of Ohio where Brians's sister Laura goes to school. On the Bus, Skye revealed to May and Shaw what Po said to the women in the flower dress it was then revealed by Mike that said flower dress girl was named 'Raina' a recruiter for the Centipede program.

**3rd Pov, Location: Unknown**

Raina walks through the empty facility as she sees Po eat dinner with a fork and knife walking up to him Po looks up to her "Nice to cut my own meat again" Holding her tablet in her hand "The steak was to your liking?" She asks "Overcooked and the ambiance..." He says in slight disgust 

"We're not here for the decor" Raina counters smiling as Po stands up to face her "We've stabilized the serum, added the implant, and now we need the clairvoyant's help in finding the key to stage three," Raina states as they walk through a pair of blue containers

"I've asked before but the clairvoyant has trouble seeing the man you're looking for and his weaknesses" Po looks at Raina when he notices her silence "I don't mean to upset you. It's the way of things" He justifies and Raina with inpatients tells him " _This_ is what's upsetting me" showing Po Coulson, May, Skye, Shaw, and Ward run out of the Hong Kong Lab before it explodes

"This S.H.I.E.L.D team has destroyed two of our operations, we move every few days now to be, safe," She says and Po stops to look at one photo, Shaw's face in it "He looks familiar..." Po murmurs and Raina looks over to him "No facial recognition could find him, he's a ghost" She supplies and Po hums

They look up as the soldiers are in medical beds, weakened and tired "Which causes challenges for our maintenance problems. We can't overstate the toll this takes on our soldiers, they are drained after every mission. Our men need regular injections, constant upkeep. Difficult when S.H.I.E.L.D has us on the run" She explains to Po and he looks over to one of them "Then it's time to stop running" He simply says

Looking at the implants on the soldier's body.

**3rd Pov, Location: University of Ohio**

Ward and Coulson step out of the car, Coulson talks to Skye, May, and Shaw over comms about why Po was taking from jail while Ward moves to Laura Hayward when he spots her "Laura Hayward?" He asks, a smile taking over his face "That's me" She replies

"Sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you could help me out," He says, being openly friendly "I hope so, too," She says "I'm looking for your brother, Brian. Have you seen him lately?" He asks and her face turns into a frown "I'm -- I'm sorry. Who are you?" She questions

"Ah," He says and reaches into his pocket "Dan Filch, Ohio State Gaming Commission. We're trying to contact Brian, tell him the good news" He states and she looks up in surprise "He won the lottery?" 

"$50,000" He confirms "Really?" She says incredulously and he hums in confirmation "And you're looking for him? Don't you guys want to keep the money?" She asks

"Sure, but we have to at least try and contact the winners before the ticket expires. Your brothers does in six days, so if you know where he is-" He's cut off by her "I don't. Sorry. We're not close. I haven't spoken to him since he got back from Afghanistan" She informs him

Ward smiles "Well, now you have a reason too -- 50,000 reasons, actually," He says tapping the card and she chuckles, looking down, he adds "So let us know if you hear from him" Smiling before walking away

She looks at the card and Ward walks back to where Coulson is with his car, they wait as Laura takes out her phone and proceeds to take out her frown, they share a look "Brian, it's me. Some guy was just waiting for me at school, said you won the lottery" She chuckles "I know right, we're not that lucky"

They trace the call where they find out he's in Oakland, Californa. They head back to the Bus, not knowing what will happen...

**3rd Pov, Location: A Car**

Raina and Po look down at the screen, they watch as Coulson, May, Ward, and Shaw attack the soldiers when their previous test subject; Mike Peterson, walks in and they have to kill the man "He hasn't been injected with the serum in awhile, but he still has his powers" She says in wonder and Po smiles

"No. What he has is your key to stage three."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Simmons fusses over Mike's injuries, Shaw sitting on a chair behind them listening in to, the conversation Fitz has with Mike, currently talking about Brian's prosthetic how it is identical to Akela Amador's prosthetic "So Centipede also designed the eye implant?" Shaw asks and Skye scoffs in disbelief "These guys are serious multitaskers"

Mike looks over to the group "Who's Akela Amador?" He asks "Former S.H.I.E.L.D agent, the first person we contacted with this eye technology, a good agent who was forced to do some bad things," Coulson tells Mike and Simmons looks up to Mikes confused face "We helped her" She simplifies

"Kind of like how they helped you, Mr. Peterson," Shaw says and Mike looks at him and speaks up "I am curious how you came to join the team" And Shaw looks to Coulson who looks down at the ground "I found out this son of a bitch was alive and didn't tell me," He reveals to him "Figured some payback would be to join his team without his permission, you know how much he likes to follow protocols," Shaw tells with a smile

Coulson scoffs and shakes his head "Get out of here" He says jokingly and Shaw lazily salutes "Aye, Aye Captain" Before walking away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mike's in shock, and hour ago he thought his son was safe, protected, only to find out Raina has him, listening to her conditions he has nothing to do but nod and tells the team, looking down in at the ground and twiddling his thumbs "They want a trade -- Ace for his father. They've set a time and place" Coulson says and Fitz swears "Bloody savages"

"They want to experiment on him, determine how he still has his abilities," Simmons tells the group "Are we gonna let them?" Shaw asks "Yeah, we've fought these guys before" Ward adds "We don't have a choice. The instructions they gave Mr. Peterson were very specific. I called HQ, told them to stand down," Coulson says

"Stand down?" May inquires "So we take them alone" Ward deduces and Shaw nods his head, grinning "We should at least have a hostage-rescue unit in support of this" May says, glaring at the two, "They said they would murder my son," Mike says and May looks at him with what he thinks is sympathy

"If we make one wrong move" Mike states in defeat "Any electronics, and comms, any sign of surveillance and they'll terminate the arrangement," Coulson says to the group and they all look in frustration "I'll give myself up, no problem, get him back. I can figure it out from there" Mike says

"You're still recovering. We can't just hand you over to them like that, can we?" Skye says looking over to Coulson at the last part "Fitz-Simmons have a non-electrical method of tracking him" He states

Fitz speaks up "Simmons has fabricated an odorless scent. I have an instrument which can detect it, works like a bloodhound, can track someone from over 50 kilometers" He states and Coulson steps up to Mike who is looking at them all "After we make the trade, we'll be able to follow Mr. Peterson. Buy him some time to get his strength back. We'll find him" 

Mike stands up and looks to Coulson "I don't care what happens to me. As long as my boy is..." Mike chokes up and looks away, Coulson, however, keeps eye contact "I promise you, we're gonna get your son back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They meet on a bridge, on opposite sides, both Coulson and Mike step out of the car as Raina and a soldier is waiting. May, Skye, and Fitz-Simmons waiting in the van while Shaw and Ward take sniper points, Mike and Coulson walk up to the middle "My team won't let you down" Coulson says to Mike "It wasn't supposed to go down like this. I'm gonna make this right, I swear" Mike says

Ward loses Raina behind the cement truck "Damn it." "Shaw, you have eyes," He asks "I still have eyes" Shaw replies with, Ward moves his scope to where Mike and Coulson are walking to

"Hello, Mike. It's been awhile" Raina says sweetly, Mike looks at Raina with a clenched fist and Raina starts talking again "Your son is adorable, and he looks just like you" Looking over to Coulson she smiles and straightens her posture "I don't believe I've had the pleasure"

"Lucky for you," Coulson says, she looks back over "I have to thank you, Mike, for holding up your end of the deal" Mike gives a side look to Coulson, looking down at the ground "Let's just make the trade" Coulson states, not understanding yet "Give us Ace, and you can have him"

"Oh, that wasn't the deal," Raina says with a chuckle, Mike doesn't look at Coulson "I'm so sorry" Coulson looks at both of them "What's happening here, Mike?" He just looks away and Raina takes initiative "Well, in exchange for his son, we asked Mike to deliver you," Raina says with a sweet smile and Mike grabs hold of Raina's neck, Coulson steps in front of the cement truck

"Fuck," Ward says going to comms again "Shaw, you have eyes on Coulson" He hears static and then Shaw speaks up "Negative, but I still have eyes on Raina, Mike looks pissed"

"I'm not at full strength, but I can still crush your throat. New deal! My son for _your_ life" Mike says angrily and Raina chokes out "Sadly, my employer cares no more for my life than your sons. If I die, so does he, and his death will be so much worse" Coulson puts a hand on his shoulder "You need to let her go" He says and Mike shrugs off his hand "I told them they could have me" He says and looks over to Coulson "But they want you. Why do they want you?"

"I don't know, but if you kill this woman, you'll never see your son again" Coulson reasons with him "But how will I look him in the eye? How will I explain what I did?" Mike says, tears forming in his eyes "We talked about this" Coulson tells him, meaning there before conversation and Mike lets go "I'm so sorry"

Raina sighs and looks at Coulson "Let's finish this" He says and Raina turns to the car, gesturing with her hand to bring out Ace. The soldier opens the door and Ace steps out "Dad!" He exclaims, running up to Mike and hugs him with enthusiasm, Mike walks to the van with Ace and Coulson looks at Raina with a blank expression, Mike stops and turns "If there had been any other way..." Mike tries to say

"You made the only choice you had," Coulson says and Mike nods walking to the van as Raina injects Coulson with a sedative, the soldiers grab Coulson as he goes limp and brings him to the car as the group in the van widen their eyes, they all step out, Skye runs to Mike and Ace 

"What the hell is happening?!" Ward exclaims "Yeah why are they taking Coulson!" Shaw adds and May says through comms _"Do not engage. They'll kill Coulson. Stand down, I'll call HQ!"_

Mike hands Ace to Skye and tells Ace "Ace, I've got to make something right. Daddy loves you so much, okay? Stay with Skye" Going to stand up he says to Ace "You remember Skye, right?" Ace nods and Mike turns to run to the car on the other side "Keep him safe. Take care of my boy!"

He runs inbetween the truck and pylons when the bridge explodes, a bright flame covers Mike as Skye screams, shielding Ace from the blast. Ward and Shaw slightly jump as red engulfs the bridge, they both look through the scope "Where's Coulson?" Shaw demands and then the car explodes.

They all stare in shock when the sound of helicopter blades whirring fill the silence, Shaw looks at the helicopter when it starts to fire at both him and Ward, Ward ducks and Shaw grunts as he feels the bullet rip through his shoulder.

**3rd Pov, Location: The Helicopter**

Po sits in the front "We land in half an hour" He states and looks behind to see Coulson paralyzed from the neck down "Good. The sooner we begin, the better" Raina says, looking over to Coulson he tells her "Whatever this is, whatever you think you're doing, it won't work. I won't give you what you want" 

Raina just smiles "You will. And what we want is simple" She tilts her head enjoying when he looked at her in confusion

"We want you to tell us about the day after you died."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, breaks coming up so they should be more frequent  
> I have not given up on this fic fyi


	14. Dollar Bills, Y'all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRYSLER, and whatever else there is, I'm not good at remembering holidays  
> So another chapter, as I said before I am new to this forum so 3rd Pov I am very comfortable with but I will try to do more 1st Pov if I can  
> For some questions that came up, Coulson, May, Simmons, and Ward all have the same backstory... Fitz, Skye, and Shaw are a little different  
> Warning: Some verbal abuse

_**1x11** _

**Multiple Povs, Location: The Bus**

Skye looks at the unconscious Shaw who is being moved to the lab table, May and Ward moving him, she can't help but think it's her fault even though she knows it isn't she feels like it is. She feels a hand on her shoulder to see Fitz there "He's going to be ok, it's just his shoulder" He says reassuringly

"I know... but I feel like we could've done more," She tells him and he looks at her with determination "You know what we can do, get Coulson back," He says before walking over to where Simmons is putting on her gloves.

Simmons moves to peel off Shaw's leather jacket to see his blue shirt covered in dirt and blood, Skye can't help but feel surprised when Simmons takes off his jacket to see tattoos, she sees a left sleeve tattoo that goes down to his elbow, she can't help but feel like it's a tribal tattoo, on his left wrist a Celtic symbol with the number '00'

Simmons goes to remove his shirt with a pair of fabric scissors when Shaw's eyes open abruptly and he grabs Simmons's wrist, twisting it and rolling underneath her, he grabs one of his hidden daggers and stops when he notices who he attacked "Simmons?" He asks while panting heavily

Skye looks with wide eyes as Ward and May both pull out there gun 'Shit' She thinks and slowly moves takes a step to Shaw "Hey Shaw, your safe, remember you were shot, Simmons was gonna take the bullet out" She says calmly and Shaw shakes his head and nods before putting the knife away

"Sorry Simmons I didn't mean to, it was just a reaction" Shaw states apologetically and Simmons smiles "No it's ok, I should've realized, can I take a look at your shoulder now?" Simmons asks and Shaw nods before hopping back on the table looking at all of them "Can I have some privacy?"

Skye looks at him before nodding and walking up to the Command Center. everyone following beside Simmons, they all look at each other before directing there gazes to May "We need help" Ward says.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Simmons wouldn't say she's nervous per se, just that she is more cautious when Shaw woke up "Ok your gonna have to remove your shirt so I can remove the bullet" She states with what she wishes is her doctor tone

Shaw smirks at her "Yes doctor" And he does, Simmons hopes she covers the gasp when he does, looking over his injuries she notices how most of them would be either from torture or surgery, he as scars ranging from burns to cuts covering most of his chest with another tattoo his lower right ab -- which is a rather impressive set of abs if Simmons didn't say so herself -- of what looks like a chakra tattoo

She looks up to meet his eyes only to see him with a raised eyebrow as if trying to read what she is going to say next, she opens her mouth "Is that a chakra tattoo?" She asks and moves to grab her forceps, holding them to the bullet hole

"Yeah it is" He answers and she hums moving the forceps into his shoulder, she feels around for the bullet "Which one is it?" She asks, trying to distract him from her digging a forcep into his shoulder, she feels the tip of the bullet "It's the Root Chakra" He states

She grabs the bullet and pulls it out, the sound of it exiting his shoulder fills the room "Oh" She says and plops the bullet into the tray, smiling up at him "That should do it, let me stitch you up" 

She grabs the stitching kit and she works in silence, noticing how Shaw looks around the place when she feels the bus turn, looking up for a split second before looking back at her work "The bus is moving..." She murmurs and Shaw chuckles "Probably for back up"

"Yeah, backup..." She says and they drift back into silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fitz looks at his hands, he's alone and desperately trying not to think back to the explosion, Coulson could be dead for all he knew, he tries not to think back but he can't help it, Coulson became a supporting figure in his life. While Simmons was always more, Coulson was like the parent he never had

_"You're pathetic, can't even make normal friends Leopold"_

He closes his eyes and shakes his head, no he cannot go there, that was the past, but he can't help it, he sees his father drunk, his mother watching as his father beats him senseless, encouraging him even

_"You're useless Leopold, why do I even put up with your ass" Alistar spits in his face as Fitz feels his father's shoe slam into his stomach_

Fitz slams his hands on the table, taking a deep breath, he will make sure they find Coulson.

**3rd Pov, Location: The Lab 36 H** **ours After Coulson's Kidnapped**

After successfully grabbing Vanchat the group rounds back to the Bus "Impressive," Simmons says sarcastically walking up to Shaw "You actually managed to reopen _all_ your stitches" She walks up with a new stitching kit and Shaw smiles sweetly "Only for you" 

Ward rolls his eyes "Let's just hope Vanchat can lead us to Centipede" And Simmons's lips quirk up "Well, the Chitauri metal he was selling is an exact match to what Centipede used for their device" "We find Centipede, we find Coulson" Ward states

The sound of Fitz annoyed voice is heard throughout the lab "Don't ask questions, Agent Kob. Just get me the five-millimeter injector. That's an order" he sighs before walking back over to his lab table, Shaw smirks while Ward shakes his head "Honestly, how many agents do they think they can cram on this plane?" Fitz angrily asks quietly

Ward turns to Fitz "It's only gonna get more crowded. We're set to pick up more men when Agent Hand dumps Vanchat off at the Fridge" And Shaw scoffs "Agent Hand is a serious pain in the ass"

Simmons shakes her head "Honestly, I think it's good they're here. We need fresh eyes it's been 36 hours since Agent Coulson was taken, and none of us have gotten any rest" And Fitz adds as he looks to the lab screen "Oh, joy. Agent Hand is giving another briefing" Shaw lights up "Thank you! Another person who _cannot_ stand her!" He exclaims and Fitz smiles

They all walk up to the Command Center as Agent Hand continues talking "The burnt remains recovered at the site are believed to be those of Agent Trainee Micheal Peterson. Other physical evidence has proven scarce" She states to the other agents in the room, Ward and Fitz-Simmons walk up to them with Shaw leans against the door frame

"Nothing relating to Mr. Po, his Centipede associates, or their location has been found" Agent Hand looks up to Ward as he speaks up "Any progress with Vanchat?" "Nothing actionable, Agent Ward, but I have my best interrogator in there right now. Vanchat will talk and rest assured when he does, not a single stone will be left unturned until we take down Centipede" Agent Hand states

"And find Agent Coulson" Fitz-Simmons say at the same time, Agent Hand opens her mouth to respond when the alarm starts blaring "Someones hacking us," Agent Hand says, "No shit Sherlock," Shaw remarks as he walks away and Agent Hand glares, May sighs as he watches him go "I know where he's going, and I know whos 'hacking' us" May states.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Agent Hand opens the bunk door to Skye's room to find Skye leaning back "Just in time" She says nonchalantly "What do you think you're doing?" Agent Hand questions annoyingly, Skye gestures to her computer "The money trail's our key to finding Coulson. I just need to gain access to Vanchat's Financials, and from there, I should be able to trace Centipede's payments and hack their account"

Agent Hand looks at Skye "You're the consultant -- The one who shot Agent Sitwell" She states and Shaw speaks up "Actually that was me because Simmons is a terrible, terrible liar" Agent Hand looks at Shaw with a raised eyebrow "Who said you could shoot a superior officer?" 

"Me" Shaw states, looking down at Agent Hand, she turns back to Skye "I want you off this plane immediately," Agent Hand says, turning away at the sound of Ward, Shaw, and Skye's protest, Skye hurries to catch up to Agent Hand "Hold on, I know I'm not some badass like May, Ward, or Shaw but this is what I do. You can't kick me off this mission" Skye says, Agent Hand sighs before turning to Skye

"Listen, I will do whatever you say. All this doesn't matter to me, as long as we get Coulson back, illegally or legally" Skye states "Well, if its 'illegally or legally' matters to me. You're a distraction, and you're gone." She turns to walk away when Ward speaks up "Agent Hand, I know Skye's methods are unorthodox, but she's a member of this team. She can help" 

Agent Hand sighs and looks to May "Agent May, your professional opinion -- Will this girl be of any use to us on this plane?" May tilts her head, seemingly thinking it over before responding "No"

Skye looks over to May, hurt written all over her face while Ward looks at her in shock, Shaw just cracks his neck. Agent Hand takes out a bracelet and places it on Skye so fast Skye doesn't have time to react "Increase her restriction level. Confiscate her laptop and phone, then have her delivered to debrief. I don't want her touching a single thing that can be accessed electronically"

"I'll do it. I'm her SO" Ward says as he looks over to May before Skye and Ward walk away, Shaw stays and looks at May in what she thinks is thoughtful expression "What," She says snippily and Shaw shrugs "Smart" Is all he says before walking away, leaving May to interpret what he just said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward and Skye walk down to the cargo bay "It's clear that May has an axe to grind with me, I mean the bracelet-" She says, shaking her wrist which now has said bracelet "-But that was way out of line" Ward walks down with her "No one knows what's in May's head except May. Don't worry. Coulson will make this right when he gets back"

"I can find him, Ward" Skye states and Ward looks around "I believe you, I've seen firsthand what you can do, even without resources" He looks over to see Fitz-Simmons walking up to her with a brown bag "We have something for you" And Skye grabs it out of her hands in confusion "You made me a sandwich?" She asks uncertainly

"Yes, it is that" Simmons states robotically as Fitz explains in a quiet voice "It's a satellite phone -- Damper resistant. You get one shot before your new bracelet shuts it down" And Simmons adds "So only call in case of emergency"

"What do I even need this for?" Skye asks "I'm gonna be spending the next three days in a S.H.I.E.L.D broom closet getting debriefed" And Ward speaks up "That's right. A few agents are coming here to pick you up for debriefing... in exactly 12 minutes" He whispers the last part "Good luck" Before they all walk away

Skye turns and walks down the ramp, noticing an agent going to touch Lola "Don't touch Lola" She threatens and the agent jumps as he stands up and walks away.

**Coulson's Pov, Location: Unknown**

He opens his eyes and hums as the masseuse hits a particularly nice spot "Can you feel that?" She asks and he keeps his eyes close responding with "Don't stop" A server walks up to them chuckling "Listen to him. Who ordered this?" He asks and Coulson opens his eyes to look at the man.

He squints his eyes abruptly as blue light fills his eyes, he looks around dazedly, noticing a mannequin in the corner he hears a voice "It seems you passed out" He hears Po say, looking over to him having a drink "Now maybe you're ready to share what memories you're seeing" 

He looks back up "I saw... Jordan... hitting that game-winner over Russel in the '98 finals" He says sarcastically "So clutch" "Agent Coulson, we're gonna turn the machine back on and open your mind. It's time to stop fighting it. If you don't, you won't survive the process" 

He turns his face to Po "I'll let you kill me before I give you anything. Seems you have a taste for that, anyway -- Murdered Mike Peterson in front of his own son" And watches Po stand up, walking to him, he inwardly smirks "Mr. Peterson chose that end. We gave him his life and his child unscathed. You're just upset because that man's death hit so close to home, seeing a boy lose his father at such a young age" 

He makes sure his face is blank while inwardly reeling thinking to himself how he knows "As you did. A defining moment" Po leans in as if he's revealing a secret "The Clairvoyant saw that" And he speaks up "I hate to break it to you, otherwise your telepathic friend, he'd know all these answers, and I wouldn't be here" 

Po nods his head "It's true -- This is strange" Turning away "My friend can see that you died. You went cold" Po turns back to face him "Your heart was torn to pieces. What the clairvoyant _can't_ see is what happened after -- How they brought you back from the dead" Shaking his head slightly "For some reason, Agent Coulson, you're different. Now, why is that?"

He stays silent and Po smiles bitterly "So we have to do this the hard way" Po walks away as a soldier who was previously standing still walks up to him with a taser.

**Skye's Pov, Location: (She's in so many places idek)**

Skye sighs in relief as she gets in the car that Lloyd owns, driving down the freeway she tries the GPS to go to Lloyds home but is blocked by S.H.I.E.L.D yet again and sighs in frustration, pulling over to the side of the road she looks around the car "Plan B..." She mutters and looks up to the mirror, noticing an SOS symbol she smirks

It's a stupid idea and she knows it as she rams the car into the water barrels but it works and a woman's voice is heard "Roadside assistance. We see you've had an accident" Taking deeps breaths she responds "Yeah. Can you send somebody to tow me back to my house?"

"Of course, I'll dispatch someone right away" The woman states and Skye sighs in relief "Are you okay?" The woman asks in concern and Skye takes a deep breath "Yeah. I'm good."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward and Shaw are on the outside of the interrogation room "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ward asks and Shaw smirks "You got a better one?" Ward sighs before opening the door to see the agent glaring at Vanchat "Agent Hand needs you, says it's urgent" Ward states to the agent and he nods, leaving the duo with Vanchat. Alone.

Ward sits down while Shaw steps up and leans in front of Vanchat, Vanchat recognizes him and whispers "I'll pay you if you get me out of this situation" He says frantically and Shaw snorts leaning down and whispers to him "I've been paid more by them" Before pulling away and leaning back 

"Time to talk" Ward speaks up and Vanchat chuckles "The names of all your buyers, alphabetically would help" And Vanchat shakes his head "I'm not telling you a bloody thing" Shaw grins and stands, stalking over to Vanchat and he visibly shrinks in his chair "That's how you want to play it?" Before walking back to the chair and strapping himself in, Ward does the same

Ward looks over to the camera and nods his head, Fitz-Simmons turn to look at each other "Rochambeau you?" Fitz speaks up and they turn to look at each other, raising there fist and Fitz says "Rochambeau!" Fitz makes a scissor and Simmons a fist, chuckling she brings it to his hand, grabbing the tablet and pressing a button

The top of the interrogation room opens up and Vanchat flies up grabbing the table "I've got all day" Ward shouts to Vanchat and all he does is a scream as he desperately holds onto the interrogation table, he loses a hand and screams out "All right, I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Ward and Shaw look at each other smirking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye walks to the garage and presses the button, the garage opens and Skye laughs "Dollar bills, y'all" Walking into the house she sets up everything, calling Lloyd back and changes into what she hopes is an intimidating outfit, she hears the sound of the front door unlocking 

"You're in a lot of trouble, Mr. Rathman" And Lloyd looks at Skye "Who the hell are you?" He demands and Skye looks at him "Agent Melinda May with S.H.I.E.L.D."

Lloyd walks up to her "Look, clearly, there's been a misunderstanding. I'm a legitimate businessman" And Skye takes off her glasses "S.H.I.E.L.D has evidence your company has been siphoning funds into an offshore account for some very bad people" And Lloyd scoffs "My clients' business is their business-" He's cut off by Skye "Well, my business is catching those guys, and if it turns out you've made a profit from just one of them, S.H.I.E.L.D is prepared to freeze all your assets"

Lloyd looks down at his phone "I'm calling my lawyer" But before he can press call Skye speaks up "Do that and my offer's off the table" Lloyd looks at her "What offer is that?" "Immunity -- You walk..." She takes a step forward "Free and clear. S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't touch a single asset. Not even your party boat in Key Largo" Lloyd lowers his phone "And if I say no?" 

She hides her smirk "You spend the next five years in the Fridge" "The Fridge?" Lloyd asks and Skye doesn't give anything away "It's worse than it sounds" Lloyd moves his feet "All right, what do you want?" "Follow me to your office," Skye says, not telling him 

As she walks off Lloyd clicks the silent alarm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Vanchat's intel is paying off. We're pursuing every known buyer of Chitauri metals around the globe. The largest has a warehouse in Sydney. We're heading there now. This is our chance to take down Centipede. I want everyone in full tactical" Agent Hand informs the group "And what about Agent Coulson?" Ward asks "If we're lucky, Centipede's holding him in Sydney. Dismissed." Agent Hand replies

Ward and Shaw move to walk away "You two, a moment," Agent Hand says and both stop and turn to her "First, your friend Skye left the plane and never arrived for her debrief, then Vanchat almost flies out of the interrogation room. Do we have a problem?" She inquires and Ward goes to speak but Shaw beats him first "With what little respect I have for you, _Agent Hand_ , we've been doing are missions differently than you will ever know, so if you barge onto our plane expecting _us_ to take these orders like everything in the past 6 months mean nothing, you are deeply mistaken-" 

Ward puts a hand on Shaw from continuing him from speaking "No, Agent Hand, it's just something some of us need to get used to it" Pointedly looking at Shaw who is glaring at Agent Hand, she gives them a look and Shaw and Ward walk away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson groans as the electric stick shocks him, the soldier stops and he pants as he tries to catch his breath, looking off to Po "S.H.I.E.L.D's gonna find me before you break me" "S.H.I.E.L.D?" Po says and he shakes his head as if that was a joke "Well, the clairvoyant sees an end to all that" Before motioning to the soldier to use the shock stick again

Coulson groans and Po motions for the soldier to stop as Raina walks in "He doesn't look so good" She says as a way of greeting him, Po turns and smiles "Raina, what took you so long?" He asks "I was tending to our other subject," She says evasively and Po leans against the table "The persuasion skills I've spoken to the clairvoyant so much about would be better served here with me, breaking this man" Po states with barely contained frustration

"I would never use force to bend a man to my wishes," Raina says "He's being difficult" Po counters "He's being beaten," Raina says with crossed arms "Into submission" Po states "The clairvoyant requested it and will tell me to-" He stops talking when hs phone buzzes "See?" As if he's making a point

Holding it to his ear he listens to the clairvoyant "Yes? No" And listens to him "Well, I've only just begun. My methods are sound. I assure you-" He hears what the clairvoyant says and looks over to Raina "Right here. Yes" Removing the phone from his ear looking at Raina "The clairvoyant would like to speak to you"

She looks at him in shock before bringing the phone to her "This is Raina" 

"Yes..."

Pause

"I agree..."

Pause

"Thank you. I'll put him back on" She hands the phone back to Po and he takes it, bringing it up to his ear again "Yes, I'm here" Is all he said before his body seizes turning blue and drops the phone as Raina catches it

Raina walks away "Someone clean up the body."

10 minutes later after the body is removed Raina is walking back with a glass of water, smiling as Coulson rubs his wrist that was previously restrained "This is turning into an interesting day, isn't it?" Handing him the water and Coulson takes it slowly "So, you're my friend now?" He asks and she tilts her head "' Cause I've seen what you do to your friends" Coulson says and Raina tuts "Mr. Po?"

"Yeah" Raina chuckles "He was a murderer incapable of remorse" Turning away from Coulson "Actually I was thinking of Mike Peterson, Chan Ho Yin" And Raina stops and sighs turning back to him "I gave them what they asked for. Mike wanted to be a hero to his son. Now he is" She turns back around

"Did Akela Amador want a bomb in her head?" Coulson inquires "The people you work for are just as capable of using cruel means to reach a justified end" She looks at Coulson and smirks "Especially that person, what was his name... Shaw, we've asked for his help before," She says smugly and Coulson clenches his jaw, he ignores that statement "And who do you work for, Raina? The clairvoyant?"

Raina sighs "Yes" "Who is he?" "I don't know" Riana answers honestly "Today was the first time I personally made contact" She inhales "My heart's still racing" "He has you building super-soldiers," Coulson tells her "The clairvoyant gives us guidance, formulas" She corrects

"For what?" Coulson questions "The changing world, the world your organization brought upon us. We're new to the business of what you've been doing for decades" Raina states and Coulson shakes his head "So what? You have soldiers? You can make them strong, you can control them. In instant, you can kill them" 

"Yes, but we can't bring them back to life," Raina says and Coulson doesn't respond, Raina takes a step towards him "You were killed. Now you're here. We want to know how" Raina whispers the last part and then looks at him "Don't you?"

Coulson looks at the glass in his hand "I'd like to turn the machine on again" She looks away from him "It induces theta brain-wave frequencies to help uncover the secrets buried in the subconscious. If you cooperate, you can surf those waves" She states, patting the machine "I've gone surfing. That is definitely not like surfing" Coulson says and Raina smiles "You've been resisting. Fight the waves and you'll drown. Your brain will cook and you'll stop breathing, again" 

"Then that's what it'll be, or I hold out until my team comes to find me. Either way, you will not get classified intel from me" And Raina leans in "I'm not interested in those secrets. The clairvoyant can see within any agency, any government. He knows what the President dreams about at night. _I_ want what _you_ want -- to uncover a different secret... the secret S.H.I.E.L.D is keeping from you" 

Coulson stares at her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye wouldn't say shes freaking the fuck out, well, scratch that she is currently freaking the fuck out. Two policemen are currently tied up in a chair while Lloyd tries to find the money trail "All right, we're logged in, but you do realize you can't transfer these kinds of funds online" Lloyd says to Skye and she nods "I'm not looking to transfer funds. I'm looking for transaction records" She sighs and runs a hand through her hair "Go to your account history. We need to open a terminal emulator, see what kind of encryption they've got"

Lloyd nods "If it's an SSL 256 or an A.E.S Twofish Serpent, we're in business," Skye tells him "Quantum key that's another story," Skye says and looks over to see him still at the main page 

"Lloyd," She says, clearly annoyed and he nods "What is happening here?" She questions, he turns to face her "Yeah, account history where is that?" She sighs in frustration and looks over to the policeman. 

5 minutes later of unnecessary switching one of the policemen is at the computer, typing away at Skye's recent instruction "Delete that second line" She informs him looking at the computer "Press 'return'." And she sees Lloyd lean over to the other policemen beside him "Thing is, I have an assistant that does all this for me" He states to the man who is, unfortunately, sitting next to him

Ignoring what he said Skye leans forward, careful to not bring the S.H.I.E.L.D issued bracelet close to the computer "That's it" And the guard tries to understand what he was doing "So, this Vanchat -- is this the guy you're trying to bust?" He asks, turning to her and she shakes her head "No, we already have him in custody. What I want to know is who's recently paid Vanchat a lot of money. I backtrack those payments to the buyer's account and get a record of all purchases she's made, maybe use it to track her down"

She tells him to stop when she found the page she was looking for, smirking "Hello, Raina" She says to herself "Let's see what you've been up to" Before nodding at the policemen "Print that" She tells him and Lloyd speaks up "Great. So are we done here?" He asks and Skye looks at him with a smile "One last thing"

The sound of Lamborghini wheels screeching is heard as it backs up out of the garage, Skye drives out of the building.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And you're clinging to the one thing you have -- fond memories of your recovery" Raina states to Coulson, trying to get him to agree to go into the memory machine, Coulson leans in "So, this person you work for told you I died and have gaps in my memory. Ever think your mind reader might just be looking up symptoms online?" 

"I was also told it keeps you up at night, that you crave answers, that you're troubled by the fact that when you asked for answers, you were denied. Isn't that true?" Raina informs Coulson and he chuckles, moving to get up "I trust the system" He simply states "They keep secrets for a reason"

And Raina crosses her arms, confident that if he tries to escape he won't get far, not with Centipede soldiers watching his every move "But why would S.H.I.E.L.D keep details of your death from _you?"_ Raina inquiries "They're your family -- your _only_ family since you've lost your mother, too" Coulson looks up as she struck a nerve "Now, after all, you've sacrificed..." Raina tuts

"Sacrifice is part of the job," Coulson tells Raina, trying desperately not to break "I would give my life-" He's cut off by Raina "You didn't just give your life, you gave your chance at a normal one, at love" 

He blinks repeatedly as he hears what Raina says next "And she did love you, Agent Coulson" His voice breaks as tears form in his eyes "How could you know that?" He asks weakly, Raina walks up to him "Do you miss her? Dinners at the Richmond. Do you miss hearing her play? You didn't even have a chance to say goodbye"

And he does something he never thought he would do, he breaks... "I-I couldn't," He says with despair "I-I can't" 

Raina just digs at the wound "She cried for days after S.H.I.E.L.D told her you died. They shattered her heart with a lie, and now they're lying to you" Raina says and Coulson can't stop the few tears that fall down his face "No" He tries to deny her accusations "No, they're not."

"I know you don't want to believe it, but you can't tell me nothing makes you doubt, makes you wonder what happened in Tahiti," Raina tells and Coulson looks up "It's a magical place" Coulson automatically says, and he notices

Raina just looks at him at what he thinks is sympathy "I keep saying that" He says, mostly to himself, Raina hears that "Don't you want to know why?" She whispers to him. He looks at the machine for a few seconds and then walks towards it, stopping a few feet from it and not even looking at Raina he tells her "Turn it on."

**3rd Pov, Location: The Lab**

"Centipede soldiers each have a port on their delivery device to inject refills of serum" Simmons starts with May, Ward, Fitz, and Shaw all crowded around the lab table, Fitz holds up a device "But with this injector cuff, we can use the port to our advantage" Simmons, takes the blue serum and inserts into the device "By injecting a refined dose of Dendrotoxin to incapacitate the soldier" She finishes with

"How's it work?" Shaw asks and Simmons grabs Wards arm and puts in on his wrist, strapping it to him "Oh, just simply lock it around the Centipede soldier's forearm" Simmons informs them and a needle pops out "And night-night, superpowers" Fitz says

"Sounds like riding a bull for eight seconds" Ward states and Fitz nods "Yeah, exactly. It's that simple" "Yeah," Simmons says and her phone rings, looking down she recognizes the number, she steels herself "Hello?"

"Simmons, it's me," Skye says "Why, Hello... Dr. Nugent" Simmons says and May looks up as if she needs saving "Is someone there?" Skye asks "God, don't try to lie. You are the worst at this" Skye says in exasperation

"Remember our safe word," Skye says and Simmons makes a face "Manscaping?" And she closes her eyes "Oh, I shouldn't have said that. Um, I am right as rain. Couldn't be better, old chap" Simmons rambles and May turns to the three S.H.I.E.L.D scientists "You three, out" She demands and they all scurry out, not wanting to face her fury

"Listen up, I may have a lead on where Centipede's holding Coulson" Skye informs Simmons and May grabs the phone out of her hands "Skye?" May asks and Skye tenses "What have you found?" May asks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Agent Hand walks out of the cargo ramp while Ward, May, Shaw, and Fitz-Simmons trailing behind her "We're about to launch a major assault on a centipede lab, and you want to take your team to the desert based on a hunch from Skye?" Agent Hand repeats incredulously

"It's not a hunch" Ward corrects him and Shaw speaks up "Skye followed the money trail after you not so ceremoniously kicked her off the plane, which was stupid by the way, way to go on the directing part, Agent Hand" Ward elbows Shaw who just swipes his hand away 

"Turns out they recently purchased a small development less than 100 miles from here," Simmons says before Shaw continues his rant to Agent Hand "Well, that's great news for their real-estate portfolio, but we have confirmed activity at the lab" Agent Hand informs the group and May sighs, Agent Hand continues "I'm taking a strike team to investigate. End of story"

"So we split up," May says "You take the strike team and go after Centipede. We'll investigate Skye's lead, see if Coulson's there" She finishes and Agent Hand almost looks hurt "You backed my decision to kick Skye off the plane" "Seems like it worked out" May counters "Seems like you played me" Agent Hand corrects and Ward jumps in before they start to argue

"Look, this isn't personal, but I am taking my team and we're gonna find Coulson. Send backup if you want" Ward states and May smirks, Ward walks to the car Fitz-Simmons, May, and Shaw following him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson is laying back in the machine as Raina preps it "What makes you so sure this machine will even work?" Coulson asks as Raina presses a few buttons, she looks over to him "It worked on me" She tells him

He scrunches his face as she checks the restraints "One thing before we start -- what is it with the flowers?" Coulson questions and Raina lets a sultry smile "Who doesn't like flowers?" She responds with "I'm glad you noticed. Close your eyes and relax"

Coulson relaxes his head as he closes his eyes, taking a deep breath he hears Raina talk "I want you to think back to your first memory after you died. What do you see?"

Coulson feels the masseuse massage his neck, he looks around "Sandy beach, blue waves -- just as I remember it" He tells Raina and he hears her talk again "Focus on the details" He smiles as the masseuse hits a spot "Can you feel that?" She asks as a caterer walks up to them "Don't stop" He says

Suddenly the caterer turns into Dr. Streiten "Listen to him!" He yells "Who ordered this?" He inquires, Coulson looks back up to the masseuse "W-what?" He asks shakily and the woman acts like she didn't hear him "Directer Fury himself" The woman replies to Dr. Streiten, she looks back down, smiling

Raina hears the sound of tires and looks at the door, nodding to the soldiers standing there they rush out to see one of the soldiers go flying via S.H.I.E.L.D car

She looks to Coulson "Agent Coulson, something's happening, isn't it?" Coulson trembles as he remembers a cold lab table, a robot digging into his brain as Dr. Streiten yells at the doctors barely registering Raina "I need you to look at your surroundings. Try and describe what you see" She tells him "Are you still in Tahiti?" Raina asks him

"It's dark. There's nothing" Coulson says "Everything is dark" Coulson sees blue blood, writings, a galaxy and then he's screaming at them to stop just let him die, and he does the one thing he can do as the robot drills into his brain, he screams 

Raina tries to get through to him "Stop fighting it, Agent Coulson. Stop fighting it" She says but Coulson is to lost "Please let me die" He moans in pain and then the door opens, Raina abruptly turns to Shaw and Skye walking through the door, Raina walks up to them "It's for his own good" Is all she says before Shaw punches her in face, she falls to the ground unconscious as Skye runs up to Coulson, turning off the machine 

Skye grabs his hand as he writhes in pain "Coulson!" She says to him "Come back, come back" She pleads and his eyes snap open "Skye?" He pants out and she sighs in relief, resting her head on his chest as she desperately tries not to cry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the lab, Skye waits anxiously with the rest of the group as May walks up to her "Nice jacket" May comments and Skye smiles as May's lips quirk up, they all watch in satisfaction as Raina is in handcuffs, Agent Hand talking to her

Simmons leans into Fitz "Bet there aren't any flowered dresses where she's going" Simmons states and Fitz replies "Amen to that, sister" As Shaw nods his head "Rot in hell, bitch" He mutters under his breath, Skye hears and quirks an eyebrow while Shaw just shrugs

Raina turns her head as Coulson walks out of the top, resting his elbows against the railing, he walks down to where Raina is getting loaded into a car, Agent Hand walks over to them and looks at Coulson "Just got off the phone with headquarters. Director Fury was very relieved" She informs him and Coulson nods "I understand you've been busy. Heard you put some miles on my plane" He says

Agent Hand nods "The manhunt has yielded some impressive results. Centipede operations have been taken down around the globe" "Any word on the clairvoyant" Coulson asks and she shakes her head "Nothing yet, but it's gonna be awfully hard to stay hidden now that the clairvoyant's on S.H.I.E.L.D radar"

"Good, because Raina knew things about me -- personal things. I want to know how" Coulson says "My team and I are taking Raina straight to headquarters for questioning. We'll be in touch" Agent Hand turns to walk away but is stopped by Coulson "Agent Hand I believe you have something that belongs to you" Coulson says and Agent Hand looks back to see Coulson motioning to Skye's wrist "Ah, deactivate bracelet" She says to the device and it unlocks

Shaw smirks at her "Have fun, Victoria" Her nostrils flare as she turns and walks away. Coulson looks back at the team and smiles "I just want to say thank you" He says and they all smile and nod at him, Coulson looks at Shaw "A word, in my office?" He asks and Shaw nods "Of course" 

"Now get back to work," Coulson says and Ward chuckles and pats his shoulder and Fitz-Simmons nod and smile at him, May smiles, Skye surprises him by giving him a hug which he returns after getting over the shock.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coulson shuts his office door to see Shaw leaning against his desk "Raina said you worked for them before" He says, getting straight to the point, Shaw sighs "I can't talk about prior contracts" Shaw says and Coulson groans in frustration "You could have told me about how you had one for Centipede!" He snaps 

Shaw stands up, face a mask, and Coulson realizes his mistake "I didn't know, you know my job, how dangerous it is, if S.H.I.E.L.D didn't get involved in the first place I wouldn't even be in this position!" Shaw bellows out, he takes a step towards Coulson 

"You don't get to judge me" Shaw hisses "I'm here because you faked your death, not because of Centipede, not because of this ragtag group, because of you!" He takes a deep breath, moving towards the door "You know the life I live, and you should respect what I can't tell you. After all, this organization is the reason I'm here in the first place." Shaw says before slamming to the door on Coulson's face.

**3rd Pov, Location: Unknown**

Mike Peterson groans as he wakes up, looking at his hands and noticing the large burns covering his arms, he looks at his arm and almost sighs in relief when the Centipede is still on his arm, getting in a sitting position he notices how he feels weird

His eyes widen as he removes the blanket from his lower body to see his right lower leg missing, a stump. "No..." He whispers and looks around the barren cell "H-hello?" He says out loud, hoping to grab someone's attention "Anybody there?" He yells 

He looks at the mirror, touching the burns on the left side of his face when letters appear in his vision

'Good morning, Mr. Peterson. Stand by for further instructions_'

He looks at the mirror, fear is all he feels as he quietly says "No."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're interested in seeing his tattoos here they are   
> https://www.tattooeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/tribal-tattoos-19011731.jpg
> 
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b6/4a/09/b64a09effdb88a882b168c34bdb2c483.gif
> 
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/93/10/99/9310997f9b2c919c492279e81fc26167.jpg
> 
> Masseuse- a woman who does messages

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts???  
> Ending it on a Cliff Hanger so I can add to it!  
> It may seem like a rip off to the tv show, its not I'm just using quotes and scenes from the first couple episodes before it splits from the show


End file.
